UEFA Europa League 2026-27: Previews and Lineups

The 2026-27 UEFA Europa League play-offs concluded with mixed results for the contributing clubs. Ararat-Armenia played against Craiova in the second leg of the Europa League play-off. Craiova struggled to create scoring opportunities, while Carlos Mora received a red card. Ararat-Armenia failed to score in the first half. After half-time, Sandro Lima scored for Ararat-Armenia. In the end, Ararat-Armenia defeated Craiova.

RB Salzburg defeated Mjällby in their most recent game. Neither team scored in the first half. After half-time, Karim Konaté scored twice, and Haris Tabaković scored for RB Salzburg. Lillestrøm claimed a victory against Egnatia in their latest fixture. Egnatia took control of the match as Eljon Sota found the net. Sander Moen Foss and Thomas Lehne Olsen each scored for Lillestrøm. Upcoming Matchday 1 will mark the beginning of their UEFA Europa League campaigns.

Matchday 1 Schedule: Timings and Dates

Games	Dates	Time Zone ET	Time Zone PT	Time Zone IST	Venues
Omonoia vs Celta	September 16, 2026	12:45 PM	09:45 AM	10:15 PM	GSP Stadium, Strovolos
Ararat-Armenia vs Sparta Praha	September 16, 2026	12:45 PM	09:45 AM	10:15 PM	Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium, Yerevan
Olympiacos vs Jagiellonia Białystok	September 16, 2026	03:00 PM	12:00 PM	12:30 AM (Next Day)	Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus
Anderlecht vs OL	September 16, 2026	03:00 PM	12:00 PM	12:30 AM (Next Day)	Lotto Park, Anderlecht
Leverkusen vs Celje	September 16, 2026	03:00 PM	12:00 PM	12:30 AM (Next Day)	BayArena, Leverkusen
Sunderland vs AZ Alkmaar	September 16, 2026	03:00 PM	12:00 PM	12:30 AM (Next Day)	Stadium of Light, Sunderland
Milan vs Benfica	September 16, 2026	03:00 PM	12:00 PM	12:30 AM (Next Day)	San Siro, Milan
Sturm Graz vs Rennes	September 16, 2026	03:00 PM	12:00 PM	12:30 AM (Next Day)	Liebenauer Stadium, Graz
H. Beer-Sheva vs Dinamo Zagreb	September 16, 2026	03:00 PM	12:00 PM	12:30 AM (Next Day)	Superbet Arena-Giulești, Bucharest
Levski Sofia vs RB Salzburg	September 17, 2026	12:45 PM	09:45 AM	10:15 PM	Georgi Asparuhov, Sofia
OFI vs Hoffenheim	September 17, 2026	12:45 PM	09:45 AM	10:15 PM	Pagritio, Crete, Greece
Celtic vs Ferencváros	September 17, 2026	03:00 PM	12:00 PM	12:30 AM (Next Day)	Celtic Park, Glasgow
Juventus vs NEC	September 17, 2026	03:00 PM	12:00 PM	12:30 AM (Next Day)	Allianz Stadium, Turin
Viktoria Plzeň vs Union	September 17, 2026	03:00 PM	12:00 PM	12:30 AM (Next Day)	Doosan Arena, Plzeň
Beşiktaş vs Marseille	September 17, 2026	03:00 PM	12:00 PM	12:30 AM (Next Day)	Tüpraş Stadium, Istanbul
Lillestrøm vs Torreense	September 17, 2026	03:00 PM	12:00 PM	12:30 AM (Next Day)	Åråsen Stadion, Lillestrøm
Palace vs Lech Poznań	September 17, 2026	03:00 PM	12:00 PM	12:30 AM (Next Day)	Selhurst Park, London
Real Sociedad vs Bournemouth	September 17, 2026	03:00 PM	12:00 PM	12:30 AM (Next Day)	Reale Arena, Donostia / San Sebastián

Key Teams and Expected Lineups

Leverkusen vs Celje

Date: September 16, 2026 (Wednesday)

Time: 03:00 PM ET|12:00 PM PT|12:30 AM IST (Next Day)

Venue: BayArena, Leverkusen.

Possible Lineups for Leverkusen

Position	Players
Goalkeepers	Mark Flekken, Janis Blaswich, and Niklas Lomb
Defenders	Facundo Medina, Miguel Gutiérrez, Jarell Quansah, Loïc Badé, Edmond Tapsoba, Lucas Vázquez, and Guéla Doué
Midfielders	Equi Fernández, Robert Andrich, Malik Tillman, Aleix García, Eliesse Ben Seghir, Ibrahim Maza, and Montrell Culbreath
Forwards	Afonso Moreira, Martin Terrier, Patrik Schick, Moussa Diaby, Nathan Tella, and Christian Kofane

Possible Lineups for Celje

Position	Players
Goalkeepers	Žan-Luk Leban, Luka Kolar, and Žiga Frelih
Defenders	Pijus Širvys, Artemijus Tutyškinas, Žan Žužek, Alpha Diounkou, Leonardo Koutris, Lukasz Bejger, and Matic Ivanšek
Midfielders	Darko Hrka, Benjamin Verbič, Mario Kvesić, Svit Sešlar, Milot Avdyli, Papa Daniel, Luka Vešner Tičić, Andrej Kotnik, Mark Zabukovnik, and Veton Tusha
Forwards	Blaž Kramer, Dejan Suhovršnik, Armandas Kučys, and Yaya Dukuly

Team Analysis

Leverkusen faced Union Berlin in a Bundesliga fixture. Leverkusen recorded more shots and shots on target than Union Berlin. They enjoyed more possession and higher pass accuracy throughout the match. They had more corner kicks than Union Berlin. Union Berlin recorded fewer shots and shots on target. They had less possession, lower pass accuracy, and fewer corner kicks than Leverkusen. Leverkusen beat Union Berlin. Leverkusen will have home advantage and will aim to secure another victory in the upcoming game.

Celje faced Slovan Bratislava in their most recent game. Celje recorded more shots and shots on target than Slovan Bratislava. They had more possession but fewer corner kicks than Slovan Bratislava. Slovan Bratislava recorded fewer shots and fewer shots on target. They had less possession throughout the game. Celje suffered a defeat to Slovan Bratislava. Furthermore, Celje has struggled in recent European competition.

The Pick: Leverkusen

Milan vs Benfica

Date: September 16, 2026 (Wednesday)

Time: 03:00 PM ET|12:00 PM PT|12:30 AM IST (Next Day)

Venue: San Siro, Milan.

Possible Lineups for Milan

Position	Players
Goalkeepers	Pietro Terracciano and Mike Maignan
Defenders	Pervis Estupiñán, Koni De Winter, Sankhoun Diawara, Fikayo Tomori, Strahinja Pavlović, Mario Gila, Filippo Terracciano, and Matteo Gabbia
Midfielders	Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Adrien Rabiot, Luka Modrić, Omari Hutchinson, Diego Moreira, Ardon Jashari, Alexis Saelemaekers, Alphadjo Cisse, and Yunus Musah
Forwards	Gonçalo Ramos, Christian Pulišić, and Samuel Chukwueze

Possible Lineups for Benfica

Position	Players
Goalkeepers	Anatoliy Trubin, Samuel Soares, Diogo Ferreira, Arnas Voitinovičius, and Leonardo Lopes
Defenders	Clément Lenglet, Alessandro Circati, Alexander Bah Samuel Dahl, Gabriel Índio, Souffian El Karouani, Tomás Araújo, João Fonseca, Daniel Banjaqui, José Neto, and Rui Silva
Midfielders	Enzo Barrenechea, Fredrik Aursnes, Georgiy Sudakov, Manu Silva, Leandro Barreiro, João Palhinha, Miguel Figueiredo, Gonçalo Moreira, Martim Ferreira, and Tiago Freitas
Forwards	Dodi Lukébakio, Jakub Kamiński, Vangelis Pavlidis, Andreas Schjelderup, Jhon Durán, Gianluca Prestianni, Rafa Silva, Claudio Echeverri, Anísio Cabral, Olívio Tomé, Francisco Silva, and Eduardo Fernandes

Team Analysis

Milan faced Lazio in a Serie A fixture. Lazio took the lead through Matteo Cancellieri, and Tijjani Noslin also found the net. Milan came under pressure, while Diego Moreira scored twice. In the end, Milan drew 2-2 against Lazio. Additionally, Milan has been in strong recent form and will have home advantage in the forthcoming fixture.

In contrast, Benfica faced Gil Vicente in a Liga Portugal fixture. Vangelis Pavlidis scored twice, and Gianluca Prestianni scored for Benfica. Ultimately, Benfica claimed victory over Gil Vicente.

The Pick: AC Milan

Juventus vs NEC

Date: September 17, 2026 (Thursday)

Time: 03:00 PM ET|12:00 PM PT|12:30 AM IST (Next Day)

Venue: Allianz Stadium, Turin.

Possible Lineups for Juventus

Position	Players
Goalkeepers	Kamil Grabara, Carlo Pinsoglio, Guglielmo Vicario, Riccardo Radu, and Raffaele Huli
Defenders	Zeki Çelik, Bremer, Federico Gatti, Lloyd Kelly, Pierre Kalulu, Andrea Cambiaso, Jhon Lucumi, and Juan Cabal
Midfielders	Manuel Locatelli, Teun Koopmeiners, Douglas Luiz, Kerim Alajbegović, Weston McKennie, Pape Sarr, and Augusto Owusu
Forwards	Francisco Conceição, Randal Kolo Muani, Kenan Yıldız, Jeremie Boga, Nick Woltemade, Nicolás González, Arman Durmiši, and Destiny Elimoghale

Possible Lineups for NEC

Position	Players
Goalkeepers	Gonzalo Crettaz, Nikolas Polster, and Joep Geneste
Defenders	Philippe Sandler, Perr Schuurs, Bram Nuytinck, Tobias Storm, Ahmetcan Kaplan, Deveron Fonville, Almugera Kabar, and Gabriel Brás
Midfielders	Darko Nejašmić, Willum Thor Willumsson, Dennis Geiger, Noe Lebreton, and Jamiro Monteiro
Forwards	Emre Mor, Tjaronn Chery, Dušan Tadić, Kaj Sierhuis, Bryan Linssen, Kevin Kers, Ayodele Thomas, and Clement Bischoff

Team Analysis

Juventus uses a primarily 3-4-2-1 or 5-2-3 formation. They have performed strongly in home fixtures this season. Despite their strong home form, Juventus has displayed inconsistent form in the domestic competition. Juventus will now focus on delivering stronger performances in European competition. Their defense has been strong, while their offense has been in weaker form this season. In addition, Juventus has a strong home advantage, and they will look to win the upcoming game.

In contrast, NEC Nijmegen has solid away form and has performed well in their domestic competition. Their poor recent form has been specifically evident at home. NEC has delivered powerful attacking performances in both domestic and European competition. They have shown a leaky defense and will aim to improve in the coming games. Under manager Dick Schreuder, NEC primarily plays a 3-4-2-1 or 3-4-3 formation.

The Pick: Juventus

Real Sociedad vs Bournemouth

Date: September 17, 2026 (Thursday)

Time: 03:00 PM ET|12:00 PM PT|12:30 AM IST (Next Day)

Venue: Reale Arena, Donostia / San Sebastián.

Possible Lineups for Real Sociedad

Position	Players
Goalkeepers	Álex Remiro, Unai Marrero, and Aitor Fraga
Defenders	Jon Aramburu, Aihen Muñoz, Jon Pacheco, Sergio Gómez, Mamadou Sarr, Héctor Fort, and Luken Beitia
Midfielders	Jon Gorrotxategi, Igor Zubeldia, Beñat Turrientes, Mikel Oyarzabal, Pablo Marín, Carlos Soler, Yangel Herrera, Arsen Zakharyan, Luka Sučić, and Alex Lebarbier
Forwards	Ander Barrenetxea, Orri Óskarsson, Gonçalo Guedes, Job Ochieng, and Takefusa Kubo

Possible Lineups for Bournemouth

Position	Players
Goalkeepers	Djordje Petrović and Michele Di Gregorio
Defenders	Adrien Truffert, James Hill, Julio Soler, António Silva, Adam Smith, and Bafodé Diakité
Midfielders	Lewis Cook, David Brooks, Alex Scott, Tyler Adams, Marcus Tavernier, and Alex Tóth
Forwards	Evanilson, Ryan Christie, Justin Kluivert, Amine Adli, Eli Junior Kroupi, Álvaro Rodríguez, and Rayan

Team Analysis

Real Sociedad faced Atlético Madrid in their most recent fixture. Real Sociedad recorded fewer shots and shots on target. They had less possession, higher pass accuracy, and more corner kicks than Atlético Madrid. Meanwhile, Atlético Madrid recorded more shots and shots on target. They also had less possession and lower pass accuracy throughout the match. In the end, Real Sociedad lost to Atlético Madrid. With a home advantage, Real Sociedad will grab a home victory in their forthcoming fixture.

Bournemouth played against Lincoln City in the EFL Cup game. Bournemouth recorded more shots and shots on target. Ultimately, Bournemouth defeated Lincoln City.

The Pick: Real Sociedad

Conclusion

The 2026-27 UEFA Europa League has reached Matchday 1. Omonoia will face Celta at home. Which team will take a win on Matchday 1? Ararat-Armenia will aim to use a strong home advantage to take another victory against Sparta Praha at Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium. The remaining clubs will aim to retain their strong form and claim crucial points in the upcoming matchday.