Europa League opponents confirmed

The draw for the new league stage of the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League has today (Friday 30 August) taken place and we’ve learned our opponents in the initial phase of the competition.

We will meet Roma (ITA), AZ Alkmaar (NED), Qarabağ (AZE) and Elfsborg (SWE) at home and Rangers (SCO), Ferencváros (HUN), Galatasaray (TUR) and Hoffenheim (GER) away.

We have never previously faced six of these eight sides competitively - we've only previously met Qarabağ (2015/16) and Rangers (1962/63) in European competition.

We’re returning to the competition for the first time since 2020/21, with the tournament taking a different format to the one we last contested – the previous group stage, where teams were divided into groups of four, has now become a single 36-team league stage, where each club faces eight different teams once, four at home and four away.

The top eight advance directly to the round of 16, while sides finishing from ninth to 24th will contest the knockout round play-offs, with the winners of all eight two-legged ties going through to the last 16.

Other sides involved in the league stage are: Manchester United (ENG), Porto (POR), Ajax (NED), Frankfurt (GER), Lazio (ITA), Slavia Prague (CZE), Real Sociedad (ESP), Braga (POR), Olympiacos (GRE), Lyon (FRA), PAOK (GRE), Fenerbahçe (TUR), Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR), Viktoria Plzeň (CZE), Bodø/Glimt (NOR), Union SG (BEL), Dynamo Kyiv (UKR), Ludogorets (BUL), Midtjylland (DEN), Malmö (SWE), Athletic Club (ESP), Nice (FRA), Anderlecht (BEL), Twente (NED), Beşiktaş (TUR), FCSB (ROU), RFS (LVA).

Confirmed dates and kick-off times for each game will be confirmed in due course.

Designated round dates are as follows...

Matchday 1: 25/26 September, 2024
Matchday 2: 3 October, 2024
Matchday 3: 24 October, 2024
Matchday 4: 7 November, 2024
Matchday 5: 28 November, 2024
Matchday 6: 12 December, 2024
Matchday 7: 23 January, 2025
Matchday 8: 30 January, 2025