UEFA Europa League and Conference League draws as they happened - League phase opponents revealed for Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace
Updated 29/08/2025 at 13:03 GMT+1
Updates from UEFA’s ‘season kick-off event’ in Monaco and the league phase draws for the UEFA Europa League and Conference League. Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace, Celtic and Rangers were among the clubs in the draws to learn their opponents. You can watch UEFA men’s club competitions live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Tottenham celebrate with Europa League trophy
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13:00 – The Europa and Conference League headline news
The draws for the league phase of the Europa League and Conference League are concluded, and there are some interesting match-ups on the horizon.
Aston Villa have the most successful manager in Europa League history in charge, and are rightly one of the favourites, but will face some tasty away trips to Feyenoord and Fenerbahce in their eight fixtures.
Both Rangers and Celtic will host Roma in Glasgow in the league phase, while Nottingham Forest have some big-name clubs in their set of opponents, including Porto and Real Betis.
And Crystal Palace could have earned a simpler draw in the Conference League. Their match against Ligue 1 club Strasbourg, managed by former Brighton full-back Liam Rosenior, stands out.
Thanks very much for joining us for this live, and make sure to tune in to TNT Sports throughout the season to watch these competitions unfold.
13:00 – Watch UEFA’s club competitions live on TNT Sports
You can stream the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, the Premier League, Men’s and Women’s FA Cup, and more on TNT Sports and discovery+
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12:55 – A reminder of the draws
And with that the draw concludes. We now know the clubs that Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Celtic, Rangers, Crystal Palace and Aberdeen will face in Europe’s league phases, with fixture details and the order of opponents to be confirmed tomorrow. Here’s a reminder of those match-ups:
Aston Villa: Salzburg, Feyenoord, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Fenerbahce, Young Boys, Basel, Bologna and Go Ahead Eagles.
Nottingham Forest: Porto, Real Betis, Ferencvaros, Braga, Midtjylland, Sturm Graz, Malmo and Utrecht.
Celtic: Roma, Feyenoord, Braga, Red Star Belgrade, Sturm Graz, Midtjjylland, Utrecht and Bologna.
Rangers: Roma, Porto, Braga, Ferencvaros, Ludogorets, Sturm Graz, Genk and Brann.
Crystal Palace: AZ Alkmaar, Kups Kuopio, AEK Larnaca, Dynamo Kyiv, Strasbourg and Shelbourne.
Aberdeen: Shakhtar Donetsk, Strasbourg, Noah, Sparta Prague, AEK Athens and AEK Larnaca.
12:55 – The key Conference League 2025/26 dates
These are the key Conference League dates for your diaries. The exact order and final details of the fixture list for all of UEFA’s men’s club competitions will be announced tomorrow, but we now know all of the teams that each Palace, Aberdeen and the other 34 clubs will face.
- Matchday 1: 2 October 2025
- Matchday 2: 23 October 2025
- Matchday 3: 6 November 2025
- Matchday 4: 27 November 2025
- Matchday 5: 11 December 2025
- Matchday 6: 18 December 2025
- Knockout phase play-offs: 19 & 26 February 2026
- Round of 16: 12 & 19 March 2026
- Quarter-finals: 9 & 16 April 2026
- Semi-finals: 30 April & 7 May 2026
- Final: 27 May 2026 (Leipzig)
12:50 – Aberdeen can dream of European glory
The sixth and final representative from England and Scotland in today’s draws are Aberdeen. These are their six Conference League opponents:
Shakhtar, Sparta Praha, Strasbourg, AEK Athens, Noah and AEK Larnaca.
12:45 – Crystal Palace discover their Conference League opponents
The prospect of a Conference League campaign awaits Palace, who will be one of the favourites to win this competition after they successfully qualified in Norway last night.
These are the six clubs they will face in the league phase:
AZ Alkmaar, Kups Kuopio, AEK Larnaca, Dynamo Kyiv, Strasbourg and Shelbourne.
12:40 – Time for the Conference League draw
After a short musical interlude in Monaco we’ve moved on to the Conference League draw. Eden Hazard will assist with the draw.
A reminder that teams will draw six opponents in this league phase, with clubs divided into six pots.
12:35 – The key Europa League 2025/26 dates
Villa, Forest, Celtic and Rangers fans, take note, these are the key Europa League dates for your diaries.
The exact order and final details of the fixture list for all of UEFA’s men’s club competitions will be announced tomorrow, but we now know all of the teams that each club will face.
- Matchday 1: 24 & 25 September 2025
- Matchday 2: 2 October 2025
- Matchday 3: 23 October 2025
- Matchday 4: 6 November 2025
- Matchday 5: 27 November 2025
- Matchday 6: 11 December 2025
- Matchday 7: 22 January 2026
- Matchday 8: 29 January 2026
- Knockout phase play-offs: 19 & 26 February 2026
- Round of 16: 12 & 19 March 2026
- Quarter-finals: 9 & 16 April 2026
- Semi-finals: 30 April & 7 May 2026
- Final: 20 May 2026 (Istanbul)
12:30 – Nottingham Forest discover their opponents
Nottingham Forest are officially in the Europa League now, after all of the turmoil over the course of the summer.
These are the eight teams that Forest will face in the league phase:
Porto, Real Betis, Ferencvaros, Braga, Midtjylland, Sturm Graz, Malmo and Utrecht.
12:27 – Eight opponents confirmed for Celtic
The Scottish champions will be hugely disappointed not to be in the Champions League this season, but they could do something really special in the Europa League, and will play these eight opponents in the league phase:
Roma, Feyenoord, Braga, Red Star Belgrade, Sturm Graz, Midtjjylland, Utrecht and Bologna.
12:25 – Aston Villa’s Europa League fixtures revealed
Unai Emery’s team are among the favourites to win this competition and these are the eight clubs they will compete against in the league phase:
Salzburg, Feyenoord, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Fenerbahce, Young Boys, Basel, Bologna and Go Ahead Eagles.
12:22 – Rangers learn their league phase opponents
Rangers missed out on the Champions League in rather demoralising fashion this week, but they have the consolation of a spot in the Europa League, and these will be their eight opponents:
Roma, Porto, Braga, Ferencvaros, Ludogorets, Sturm Graz, Genk and Brann.
12:21 – Roma are the first club announced
Italian giants Roma are the first team to discover their fixtures, and two away trips to Glasgow, to face both Rangers and Celtic, jump out immediately.
12:20 – It’s time for the draw
We’re ready to go. The 36 Europa League clubs are about to learn their draws. The draw has been made and each club’s games will be announced one-by-one.
12:15 – No balls please. UEFA switch to fully digital draw system
There will be no physical balls used in the draws this year for the first time ever. UEFA underline that fact with a magic show where pots of balls vanish in puffs of smoke on the stage.
12:10 – The Europa League 2025/26 league phase draw pots
These are the four pots in the Europa League draw. A reminder that each club will face two teams from each pot.
Pot 1: Roma, Porto, Rangers, Feyenoord, Lille, GNK Dinamo, Real Betis, Salzburg, Aston Villa.
Pot 2: Fenerbahce, Braga, Red Star Belgrade, Lyon, PAOK, Viktoria Plzen, Ferencvaros, Celtic, Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
Pot 3: Young Boys, Basel, Midtjylland, Freiburg, Ludogorets, Nottingham Forest, Sturm Graz, FCSB, Nice.
Pot 4: Bologna, Celta Vigo, Stuttgart, Panathinaikos, Malmo, Go Ahead Eagles, Utrecht, Genk, Brann.
12:10 – Jurgen Klinsmann will help with the draw
The German legend Jurgen Klinsmann is introduced to the crowd at the Grimaldi Forum and he will help with the draw today.
It’s a fitting player to be involved, due to his history with Europa League champions Tottenham and also Monaco, where today’s draw is being held.
Klinsmann discusses Tottenham's triumph, grinning with the memory of his former club’s win in Bilbao last season:
"Spurs fans were waiting so long for that trophy, so we really enjoyed that one."
12:05 – Three of last year’s finalists are not involved
The show gets underway with a live rendition of the Europa League anthem which, whisper it quietly, might be even better than the Champions League theme tune. They are both bangers for sure.
Only one of the finalists from last year’s Europa and Conference Leagues are involved in today’s draw. That’s because Europa League champions Tottenham qualified for the Champions League thanks to their famous triumph in Bilbao, and Conference League winners Chelsea also qualified for the top-tier competition based on their Premier League finish.
Manchester United did not qualify for Europe at all this season, meaning that Conference League runners-up Betis are the only one of last season's finalists involved today, as one of the Europa League teams.
12:00 – And away we go, the draw show is live
The UEFA big cheeses are ready and the show is about to get underway. Tune in now on TNT Sports and discovery+ to watch it, or failing that, stick with us here for the key updates as the fixtures come flooding through.
11:55 – You can watch the Europa League and Conference League live on TNT Sports
Remember that these competitions will be live on TNT Sports and discovery+ throughout the season, starting with today’s draw, with the broadcast starting shortly.
The best ways to watch….
- Have TNT Sports via discovery+ Premium, EE, Sky or Virgin Media TV, with the best viewing experience you will be able to enjoy all of the action and build-up programming on TNT Sports 1 or TNT Sports Ultimate.
- Have access to discovery+ basic account with EE TV, Sky, Prime Video, you can log in or, if you haven’t already, activate your discovery+ account to enjoy all three finals for no extra cost. Prime Video customers with a discovery+ Basic subscription will also be able to watch all three finals on the Prime Video app.
- Are new to TNT Sports and discovery+. Viewers without discovery+ simply need to download the app on their mobile device, web or access via their TV, register their details online, kick back and enjoy the game for free. No subscription required. You can find out how to access the app and register here.
- Have Virgin Media TV, all customers in the UK can watch on channel 527
11:45 – Notable differences from yesterday’s draw
The key things to note ahead of the draw are this:
- Both draws are going to be held in the same show, back-to-back.
- There will be no balls used in the draw at all, it will be entirely digital.
- The draw for all teams will be made simultaneously by UEFA’s automated software.
- Each team’s set of fixtures will then be announced one by one.
11:40 – How will the Conference League draw differ?
Interestingly, the Conference League draw is formatted slightly differently, primarily because clubs only play six fixtures in the league phase rather than eight. Is that interesting? Depends on what gets you going I suppose. Anyway, on with the detail.
To ensure a relatively even balance of fixtures, clubs are divided into six pots of six, with those pots paired up (1&2, 3&4, 5&6). Teams draw one opponent from each of the six pots, and they play one home and one away fixture per set of paired pots.
Does that make sense? Sort of? It sounds complicated, but essentially it means there should be a reasonably consistent level to the fixtures, and a similarly even balance to the level of opponents each team will face in their home and away fixtures, in theory at least.
11:35 - So, how exactly does the Europa League draw work?
Brace yourself, this could sound quite complicated, but it’s not as convoluted in reality.
The Europa League follows the same pattern as the Champions League draw. The 36 teams have been split into four points of nine, with positions in those pots based on their UEFA club coefficients.
Each team will be allocated eight opponents for the league phase, with that selection occurring via automated software.
Those eight fixtures will see each team play a total of two clubs from each pot, with a home and away fixture per pot.
No team can draw an opponent from their own league.
And no team can draw more than two clubs from any other country.
If you’re struggling to follow, then check out this video, which also maps out the slightly contrasting draw structure for the Conference League, which is coming up tomorrow:
11:30 – Your half-hour warning
The league phase draw show is just half an hour away.
If you can, tune in to TNT Sports 1 and discovery+ to watch the ceremony live, or failing that, we’ll have the key information right here, just hit refresh at the top of the page.
11:20 – Which domestic clubs are involved?
The Premier League have nine clubs in European competition this season, with six of them already involved in yesterday’s Champions League draw.
Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest are in today’s Europa League draw, with Crystal Palace in the Conference League draw to follow. Let’s not get into the weeds right now about why Palace and Forest have flipped from the qualification status they had at the end of last season, that’s been a complicated and heavily-reported subject.
The Scottish Premiership will have two clubs in the Europa League draw after both Celtic and Rangers suffered defeats in their Champions League play-off round ties, while Aberdeen are the sole Scottish representative in the Conference League, after Hibernian and Dundee United missed out.
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11:15 – So what is coming up?
Those of you who tuned in for the Champions League draw yesterday will know roughly how this all works, and we’re set for a similar sort of affair today, with a couple of notable tweaks that I’ll explain shortly.
For the first time ever, the Europa and Conference League draws are going to be held in the same show, so we’ll get the fixtures through pretty sharpish when things get underway in Monaco.
11:10 - Watch the draws live TNT Sports on discovery+
You can stream the Premier League, Men’s and Women’s FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League and more on TNT Sports and discovery+ this season.
And you can also watch today’s draw ceremony in Monaco live on the channel. Click below to watch on discovery+ at midday.
11:00 - Hello and welcome
Good morning all, welcome to Europa League and Conference League draw day! A little bit later on, the clubs who have qualified for Europe’s second and third tier men’s club competitions will discover their league phase fixtures, and we’ll bring you the updates right here.
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Stream the Premier League, men’s and women’s FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League and more on TNT Sports and discovery+
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