The draw for the new format of the Europa League took place this Friday. OGC Nice will have to fight hard as they will face big clubs like Real Sociedad and Lazio of Rome.
This Friday at noon, the draw for the regular season of the Europa League took place. It wasn’t kind to OGC Nice. Here are the future opponents of the Aiglons:
– OGC Nice VS Glasgow Rangers
– Lazio Rome VS OGC Nice
– OGC Nice VS Real Sociedad
– Ferencvaros VS OGC Nice
– OGC Nice VS Bodø/Glimt
– Union Saint-Gilloise VS OGC Nice
– OGC Nice VS Twente
– Elfsborg VS OGC Nice
New format for this season
Just like the Champions League, the Europa League is changing its format this season. Indeed, the traditional group stage consisting of 8 groups of 4 teams no longer exists. Now, 36 teams will compete in a mini-championship called the “league phase.” The Aiglons will play 4 times at the Allianz Riviera and will therefore play away 4 times. At the end of this league phase, an overall ranking will be established. The top 8 teams will advance to the knockout stage, whereas the clubs ranked 9th to 24th will compete in a playoff. It should be noted that unlike the previous format, there will be no teams relegated to the Europa Conference League. The clubs ranked 25th to 36th will be definitively eliminated.
The league phase will begin on September 25 and 26. Except for this first round, the other matches will take place on Thursday evening. Given that this format includes more matches than the previous one, the league phase will not end in December and will extend into January. Subsequently, playoffs will take place from February 13 to 20. Once these playoffs are completed, the format will be identical to the previous one, with the round of 16 leading up to the final on May 21, 2025, at the Stade San Mamés in Bilbao.
