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As with all of this season’s European continental competitions, the 2024/25 Europa League tournament has a new look about it.
The competition has undergone a transformation that is akin to one that would be found for a domestic tournament. If you missed all of the news regarding the changes, then the following is a great re-cap:
- The Europa League will follow a league format with each of the 36 teams involved in one division.
- Each team was drawn against two opponents of each pot, forming the clubs that they will face as part of their fixture schedule.
- The objective of the tournament is to win as many of those games as possible and finish as high as possible in the league table.
- Teams that finish between 1st and 24th will qualify for the next stage.
- 1st-8th will automatically advance to the Round of 16 as seeded teams.
- 9th-16th will advance to the knockout phase play-offs as seeded teams.
- 17th-24th will advance to the same stage but be unseeded.
- Teams who finish 25th-36th will be eliminated; they will not join the 2024/25 Europa Conference League.
Making the 2024-25 Knockout Playoffs
Many teams in this year’s competition will be considering winning the title as a minimum. Most will want to make it out of the group stage and make at least the 2024-25 Knockout Playoff.
Getting to this competition stage is possible, but for only 16 of the 36 clubs involved. This process arguably gives so-called “smaller” clubs a greater opportunity of qualifying, although there is no guarantee that this is how things will turn out.
Indeed, it would be a shock if we saw the likes of Tottenham or Manchester United competing for a position in this part of the table. According to Europa League latest odds, the two English sides in the competition are expected to compete for the title and not for a place in the Knockout Playoff. With that said, United didn’t have the best start in Gameweek 1, as they were held to a draw with FC Twente.
Which clubs should we expect to see in the Knockout Playoff?
It is tricky to predict which clubs will make the cut for the Knockout Playoff. With eight games to be played, there can be several shocks, something continental football has a habit of doing.
If we’re looking at it from an honest viewpoint and ranking them on reputation and recent history, the following sixteen teams might make it:
- AZ
- Bodø/Glimt
- Anderlecht
- Braga
- Fenerbahçe
- Viktoria Plzeň
- Eintracht Frankfurt
- Rangers
- Real Sociedad
- Athletic Bilbao
- Galatasaray
- TSG Hoffenheim
- Midtjylland
- Olympiacos
- Beşiktaş
- Nice
Indeed, it’s hard to predict what might happen at this early stage. However, with that said, we wouldn’t be surprised if the 16 clubs playing in the Knockout Playoff Round looked a little like this.
The games are scheduled for February 13 and 20, 2025, and the draw will be made on January 31, a day after the final league standings are determined.
Which clubs do we expect to see finish 1st-8th?
It might be a little easier to try and determine the top eight. We’re pretty sure we can expect to see these clubs in the next round of the competition. Remember, if they were to finish in these positions, they would bypass the Knockout Playoff. We’d expect the following mixture of teams to be seen:
- Tottenham
- Manchester United
- Roma
- Lazio
- Lyon
- Porto
- FCSB
- Slavia Prague
Again, this could be slightly different with several matches still left to be played. However, it wouldn’t be a shock if they were the eventual qualifiers for the tournament’s latter stages.
What happens after the Knockout Playoff stage?
As mentioned, the 2024/25 Europa League competition format is slightly different this year. Once the league phase and the Knockout Playoff stages have been completed, the following will take place:
- Round of 16 – teams 1st-8th will enter and be seeded; winners of the Knockout Playoff phase will advance to this stage.
- Quarter-finals
- Semi-finals
- Final
The Round of 16 will commence on March 6, giving teams that do appear in the Knockout Playoff stage of the competition very little turnaround time.
The Round of 16 will be played on March 6 and 13, with the Quarter-finals scheduled for April 10 and 17. The Semi-finals will take place on May 1 and 8, with the Final being held at the San Mamés Stadium, Bilbao, Spain, on May 21.
Teams who progress from the Knockout Playoff phase will know their path when it is drawn on February 21.
