Europa League fixtures confirmed as Man Utd and Tottenham learn dates | Football | Sport
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have learned their Europa League schedule ahead of the 2024/25 European campaign.
United earned a spot in the second tier of continental competition following their FA Cup final victory over rivals Manchester City at the backend of last season.
While Spurs ended their season-long hiatus from Europe with a fifth-placed finish during Ange Postecoglou‘s first season in charge.
The Premier League duo discovered who they were playing during Friday’s draw, but had to wait 24 hours to find out when those matches would be.
United’s opening Europa League campaign has a very Dutch feel to it, with Erik ten Hag welcoming Eredivisie side FC Twente to Old Trafford, before a trip to Istanbul to face Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce in Matchday Three.
Much like their Premier League rivals, Spurs’ Europa League journey will also begin at home when Azerbaijani side Qarabag make the trip to north London.
Spurs will too be playing in Istanbul after Tottenham were drawn against reigning Turkish champions Galatasaray.
It does of course mark the first season of UEFA’s new ‘League Phase’ format, which has been introduced across all three European competitions this year.
Instead of the previous six-game group stage format against three different opponents, competing clubs will now take part in eight matches against eight different teams.
It’s an increase of two extra games in the initial phase, with the teams who finish ninth to 24th taking part in a ‘play-off’ fixture to earn progression into the last-16.
The successful play-off winners will be paired up against one of the teams that finish between first and eighth in the league phase.
It means every match in the new format counts, given the difficulty of knockout opponents could be impacted by a club’s final position in the league table.
But when will United and Tottenham play their Europa League fixtures this season?
Man Utd and Tottenham Europa League dates in full
September 25 – Twente (H)
October 3 – Porto (A)
October 24 – Fenerbahce (A)
November 7 – PAOK (H)
November 28 – Bodo/Glimt (H)
December 12 – Viktoria Plzen (A)
January 23 – Rangers (H)
January 30 – FCSB (A)
September 26 – Qarabag (H)
October 3 – Ferencvarosi (A)
October 24 – AZ Alkmaar (H)
November 7 – Galatasaray (A)
November 28 – Roma (H)
December 12 – Rangers (A)
January 23 – Hoffenheim (A)
January 30 – Elfsborg (H)
