Europa League draw, Juventus and AC Milan's opponents: Spalletti with Real Sociedad and Rennes. Amorim with Benfica, Olympiacos and two English sides
Here is who Luciano Spalletti's Juventus and Rubén Amorim's AC Milan will face.
AC Milan and Juventus will fly the flag for Italian football in the 2026/2027 Europa League. The draw took place today at 1pm at the Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo. Juventus and AC Milan were both in Pot 1.
These are the opponents, Spalletti smiles, Amorim less so:
The opponents of the Italian teams
The Monte Carlo draw handed the Italian sides these opponents, with teams to be faced away from home in capitals:
Juventus: Real Sociedad, AZ ALKMAAR, Rennes, FERENCVAROS, Omonia Nicosia, CELTA VIGO, Nec, HAPOEL BEER SHEVA.
AC Milan: Benfica, OLYMPIACOS, Ferencvaros, SALISBURGO, Sunderland, BOURNEMOUTH, Ararat Armenia, LEVSKI SOFIA.
The full draw
The full fixture list for the Champions League league phase (teams to be faced away from home in uppercase):
First pot
Bayer Leverkusen: Marseille, LYON, Salzburg, DINAMO ZAGABRIA, Celje, LECH POZNAN, Besiktas, OFI CRETE.
Benfica: AZ Alkmaar, MILAN, Celtic, VIKTORIA PLZEN, Lech Poznan, OMONIA NICOSIA, Ofi Creta, NEC.
JUVENTUS: Real Sociedad, AZ ALKMAAR, Rennes, FERENCVAROS, Omonia Nicosia, CELTA VIGO, Nec, HAPOEL BEER SHEVA.
MILAN: Benfica, OLYMPIACOS, Ferencvaros, SALZBURG, Sunderland, BOURNEMOUTH, Ararat Armenia, LEVSKI SOFIA.
Lyon: Bayer Leverkusen, REAL SOCIEDAD, Union SG, ANDERLECHT, Crystal Palace, JAGIELLONIA, Lillestrom, HOFFENHEIM.
AZ Alkmaar: Juventus, BENFICA, Dinamo Zagabria, SPARTA PRAGUE, Sturm Graz, SUNDERLAND, Hapoel Beer Sheva, ARARAT ARMENIA.
Olympiacos: Milan, MARSEILLE, Sparta Prague, RENNES, Jagiellonia, CELJE, Hoffenheim, TORREENSE.
Real Sociedad: Lyon, JUVENTUSM Viktoria Plzen, UNION SG, Bournemouth, CRYSTAL PALACE, Torreense, LILLESTROM.
Marseille: Olympiacos, BAYER LEVERKUSEN, Anderlecht, CELTIC, Celta Vigo, STURM GRAZ, Levski Sofia, BESIKTAS.
Second pot
Ferencvaros: Juventus, MILAN, Viktoria Plzen, CELTIC, Celje, LECH POZNAN, Torreense, HOFFENHEIM.
Viktoria Plzen: Benfica, REAL SOCIEDAD, Union SG, FERENCVAROS, Jagiellonia, BOURNEMOUTH, Levski Sofia, LILLERSTORM.
Union Saint-Gilloise
Dinamo Zagreb
Salzburg
Celtic Glasgow
Sparta Prague
Rennes
Anderlecht
Third pot
Sturm Graz
Lech Poznan
Crystal Palace
Bournemouth
Sunderland
Celje
Jagiellonia Bialystok
Omonia
Celta Vigo
Fourth pot
Hoffenheim
Besiktas
Torreense
Hapoel Beer Sheva
NEC
OFI Crete
Lillestrom
Levski Sofia
Ararat Armenia
The format
The Europa League will start with 36 teams. The league phase will run from September to January, with each side playing eight matches, four at home and four away.
The top eight sides will go straight through to the round of 16, while the teams placed from ninth to 24th will contest the play-offs, with the winners advancing to the round of 16. The bottom 12 clubs, meanwhile, will be eliminated and will not qualify for any other European competitions in this sporting season.
The dates of the league phase
Matchday 1: 16/17 September 2026 Matchday 2: 15 October 2026 Matchday 3: 22 October 2026 Matchday 4: 5 November 2026 Matchday 5: 26 November 2026 Matchday 6: 10 December 2026 Matchday 7: 21 January 2027 Matchday 8: 28 January 2027
Which teams are taking part
Bayer Leverkusen
Juventus
AC Milan
Lyon
AZ Alkmaar
Olympiacos
Real Sociedad
Marseille
Union Saint-Gilloise
Dinamo Zagreb
Celtic
Sturm Graz
Crystal Palace
Bournemouth
Sunderland
Sparta Prague
Rennes
Celje
Celta Vigo
Hoffenheim
Torreense
Hapoel Be'er Sheva
NEC
Levski Sofia
Benfica
Ferencvaros
Viktoria Plzen
Ararat-Armenia
Salzburg
Anderlecht
Lech Poznan
Jagiellonia
Omonia
Besiktas
Lillestrom
OFI Crete
Top tier
Bayer Leverkusen
Benfica
Juventus
AC Milan
Lyon
AZ Alkmaar
Olympiacos
Real Sociedad
Marseille
Second tier
Ferencvaros
Viktoria Plzen
Union Saint-Gilloise
Dinamo Zagreb
Salzburg
Celtic Glasgow
Sparta Prague
Rennes
Anderlecht
Third pot
Sturm Graz
Lech Poznan
Crystal Palace
Bournemouth
Sunderland
Celje
Jagiellonia Bialystok
Omonia
Celta Vigoco
Pot 4
Hoffenheim
Besiktas
Torreense
Hapoel Beer Sheva
NEC
OFI Crete
Lillestrom
Levski Sofia
Ararat Armenia
How the draw works
The league phase features a single 36-team group, with the sides split into four pots.
Each club, from Pot 1 to Pot 4 depending on where they have been placed, will have their ball drawn at random.
A computer will then pair opponents in real time, in line with two basic criteria: a club cannot face a team from the same league, nor more than two from the same country.
UEFA will announce the subsequent fixture list by Sunday 30 August via its official channels.
