A league phase of 36
The Europa League uses the same structure as the Champions League: 36 teams in a single league table, seeded into 4 pots of 9 by coefficient.
Each team plays 8 matches — two opponents from every pot, one home and one away, for 4 home and 4 away games. (Unlike the Champions League, there is no separate "title holder" top seed rule; the pots follow the coefficient ranking.)
Draw constraints
The same protections apply: no club can be drawn against a team from its own country, and a team faces at most 2 clubs from any single other country. Country protection applies to the league-phase draw only.
Knockouts
The top 8 go straight to the Round of 16. Teams ranked 9th–24th play the knockout play-offs (9th–16th seeded, 17th–24th unseeded) for the other 8 places; 25th–36th are eliminated.
From the Round of 16 it is a standard bracket through the quarter-finals, semi-finals and a one-off final, with the home/away order of the quarters and semis drawn.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Europa League format the same as the Champions League?
The league phase is identical — 36 teams, 4 pots of 9, 8 matches each. The difference is the entrants and coefficients, not the structure.
How many teams reach the Round of 16?
16: the top 8 directly, plus 8 play-off winners from teams ranked 9th–24th.
Simulate the Europa League yourself
Enter the scores and rank the table live, or draw the fixtures and knockouts — free and rule-accurate.