Milan, Juventus and Atalanta await UEFA draw in Monaco for Europa and Conference leagues

The draw procedure in Monaco

The draw for the 2026–2027 UEFA Europa League league phase takes place on Friday, 28 August at 13:00 in Monaco. Italian clubs AC Milan and Juventus will discover their eight opponents for the upcoming continental campaign. Both sides enter the draw seeded in Pot 1 alongside Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica, Lyon, AZ Alkmaar, Olympiacos, Real Sociedad, and Marseille. The procedure begins with the manual extraction of physical balls from the first pot, after which automated software pairs each club with its eight opponents. The automated pairing system will repeat this process across all four pots until all match pairings are established. Juventus Chief Club Affairs Officer Giorgio Chiellini and Milan Brand Ambassador Daniele Massaro represent their respective clubs in Monaco.

Single-table league phase format

The Europa League features 36 clubs competing in a unified league phase under the format inaugurated in the 2024–2025 season. The entire field is split into four pots of nine teams according to club coefficients. Each participant will play eight matches, facing two opponents from each of the four pots, with four fixtures scheduled at home and four away. Draw restrictions prevent teams from the same national association from facing each other during this phase. Additionally, no club can draw more than two opponents belonging to the same foreign national association. The competition begins with the first matchday on 16–17 September 2026 and concludes with the final on 26 May 2027 in Frankfurt.

Qualification pathways and tournament progression

The 36 participants in the Europa League phase arrive from three distinct routes. Thirteen clubs gained direct qualification, 12 advanced as winners of the Europa League play-offs, and 11 entered following eliminations in the Champions League play-offs and third qualifying round. At the end of the eight-round league phase, the top eight clubs in the standings will qualify directly for the round of 16. Clubs finishing between ninth and 24th place will contest two-legged knockout play-offs to determine the remaining round of 16 contenders. Clubs ending in 25th position or lower will be eliminated from European competition.

Italian contenders and Conference League draw

Luciano Spalletti enters the tournament as manager of Juventus, while Ruben Amorim leads Milan following the team's fifth-place domestic finish last season. Second-pot options for both Italian clubs include Ferencvaros, Viktoria Plzen, Union Saint-Gilloise, Dinamo Zagreb, Salzburg, Celtic, Sparta Prague, Rennes, and Anderlecht. The third pot contains Sturm Graz, Lech Poznan, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Sunderland, Celje, Jagiellonia, Omonia, and Celta Vigo, while the fourth pot includes Hoffenheim, Besiktas, Torreense, Hapoel Be'er Sheva, NEC Nijmegen, OFI Crete, Lillestrom, Levski Sofia, and Ararat-Armenia. Following the Europa League event, UEFA will stage the Conference League draw. Atalanta holds a top-seed spot in that competition after defeating Hapoel Tel Aviv 1-0 in Hungary with a goal from Gianluca Scamacca. The Conference League features 36 teams divided across six pots, with each club playing six matches against one opponent per pot.