Exciting Thursday in the Europa League

Bet Brothers Football
Exciting Thursday in the Europa League
newsJanuary 28, 2026By: Antxon Pascual

Exciting Thursday in the Europa League

Eighteen matches will be played simultaneously on Thursday night to determine which teams finish in the top eight, which teams must play in the play-offs, and which teams will be eliminated from the Europa League.

The Europa League group stage will be decided on Thursday night, with the final matchday determining the last six teams to qualify directly for the round of 16 and secure a home leg in the second leg. The only teams already qualified are Olympique Lyonnais and Aston Villa.

Ten teams separated by four points will battle it out for a direct ticket to the round of 16, including clubs such as Roma, Real Betis and Porto, among others. The vast majority depend on themselves, as whether or not they make it into the top eight may be decided by goal difference. Furthermore, there are no direct duels. Everyone's goal is clear: to win and do so with as big an advantage as possible.

19 qualified and 6 eliminated

Another of the night's highlights will be seeing which teams manage to finish in the top 16 to play the second leg of the play-off round prior to the round of 16 at home. It is significant that 19 teams have secured their place in the Europa League, and it is almost 20 considering that Dinamo Zagreb has a 99% chance of finishing in the top 24.

Thus, one of the most interesting aspects of this final matchday of the Europa League group stage will be to see which teams are eliminated. Only six are out of contention:

  • Sturm Graz
  • Glasgow Rangers
  • Nice
  • Utrecht
  • Malmö
  • Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Eleven teams, including Lille, Celtic Glasgow and Feyenoord, are separated by four points. Five will advance and six will join the other six already eliminated to watch the knockout stages on television.

Leagues mentioned in this article

Europa League

Europa League

Season 2025/2026

10-0726-02

Teams mentioned in this article

Celta de Vigo

Celta de Vigo

Stadium: Estadio Abanca-Balaídos (Vigo)
Capacity: 24,791
Real Betis

Real Betis

Stadium: Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla (Sevilla)
Capacity: 72,000
Aston Villa

Aston Villa

Stadium: Villa Park (Birmingham)
Capacity: 42,824
Freiburg

Freiburg

Stadium: Europa-Park Stadion (Freiburg im Breisgau)
Capacity: 34,700
Olympique Lyonnais

Olympique Lyonnais

Stadium: Groupama Stadium (Décines-Charpieu)
Capacity: 61,556
Porto

Porto

Stadium: Estádio Do Dragão (Porto)
Capacity: 50,399
Sporting Braga

Sporting Braga

Stadium: Estádio Municipal de Braga (Braga)
Capacity: 30,286
Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest

Stadium: The City Ground (Nottingham, Nottinghamshire)
Capacity: 30,576
Roma

Roma

Stadium: Stadio Olimpico (Roma)
Capacity: 68,530

Celtic

Rangers

Bologna

Bologna

Stadium: Stadio Renato Dall'Ara (Bologna)
Capacity: 39,279
Panathinaikos

Panathinaikos

Stadium: Stadio Apóstolos Nikolaidis (Athína (Athens))
Capacity: 16,620
Feyenoord

Feyenoord

Stadium: Stadion Feijenoord (Rotterdam)
Capacity: 51,117
Midtjylland

Midtjylland

Stadium: MCH Arena (Herning)
Capacity: 12,152
Nice

Nice

Stadium: Allianz Riviera (Nice)
Capacity: 35,624