Europa League 2024-2025: Nice in search of points, Lyon for a clean sheet, program, results and ranking

New day of Europa League this week with the two French clubs involved, Lyon and Nice.

Olympique Lyonnais is aiming for a clean sheet. After its first two victories in the competition, Lyon will face the Turkish team Besiktas on Matchday 3 of the Europa League to get a little closer to the last 16 of the competition by finishing in the top 8 of this League phase. The match will take place in a tense context, without the supporters of the Turkish club. “The two teams are very similar, particularly in their way of attacking. In this sense, I think that it will be played out in the balance of power, that is to say in our ability & to attack more than them, and to do it effectively. And, inevitably, if we do it a lot more than the opponent, he will have less of the ball and fewer opportunities. That's a bit of the ambition we have for this match" analyzed Pierre Sage, the OL coach. For Nice, the situation is different with a great need for points in this competition. The Aiglons are in 30th place in this phase with just one small point in two games. Against the Hungarians of Ferencváros and before the derby against Monaco this weekend, Nice has no right to make a mistake even if Franck Haise does not see a turning point. “To get sustainable results, we must continue to produce play but go and find what we are lacking, that is what will make us get better results. Now, if we have to win 1-0 on an own goal, I will take it too.”

New rules

The 2024-25 Europa League, which has been scheduled to start on Wednesday 25 September, is a completely revamped edition of the competition, with UEFA deciding to increase the number of teams from 32 to 36. Gone is the traditional group stage, replaced by a single league where Each team will face 8 different opponents (4 at home, 4 away), based on a random draw, similar to the changes made in the Champions League. At the end of this first phase, until January 30, 2025, the top eight in this unique league will be directly qualified for the round of 16 of the Europa League. The teams ranked from 9th to 24th place will play play-offs to reach the eighth round. Beyond this 24th place, it is a pure and simple elimination that awaits the teams with the lowest positions.

The Europa League play-offs have been scheduled for 31 January, 16 and 20 February 2025. The round of 16 on 6 and 13 March, then the quarter-finals on 10 and 17 April, the semi-finals on 1 and 8 May and the final on 21 May 2025, in Bilbao. Another notable difference with previous editions: no team that has come out of the Champions League will be entering this Europa League. Good news for the participating clubs who have had the trophy stolen from them five times by clubs that came from the C1 in recent years.

With 36 teams and 144 matches to play, this new format aims to offer a longer and more intense “league phase”. The French teams will have a lot to do in this major, high-level championship, but can have great ambitions.

What is the schedule for the 2023-2024 Europa League ?

Each day of the Europa League has 18 matches according to a draw made in August. Here is the schedule of the next matches:

The results of the last matches

Discover below the latest results available for the Europa League 2024-2025. The scores are updated at at the end of each day:

The Europa League standings

The so-called “league” phase has been scheduled from September 25, 2024 to January 30, 2025 in a single pool of 36 teams. The first eight teams automatically qualify for the last 16, the next eight for the play-offs. Follow the evolution of the Europa League standings and search for a team in the search engine to find out the details:

On which TV channel can you watch the Europa League in France ?

While RMC Sport and M6 have been co-broadcasters of the competition in recent years, UEFA has awarded the French TV rights for the 2024-2025 Europa League to Canal+. The matches are therefore broadcast this season on CANAL+. CANAL+, CANAL+ FOOT, CANAL+ SPORT, CANAL+ SPORT360 as well as the 18 CANAL+ LIVE TV channels.