Why nine Europa League games land on Wednesday

The Europa League breaks from its usual Thursday slot, with nine of 18 opening league-phase games moved to Wednesday.

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What happened. The opening round of 2026-27 Europa League league-phase matches begins on Wednesday, a day earlier than the competition's usual Thursday slot, with nine of the 18 fixtures played that night.

• The remaining nine match week one games take place on Thursday.
• Sunderland, AC Milan, Benfica and Lyon are among Wednesday's teams.
• Exceptions are made when fixtures clash with other European games in the same area.

The split schedule stems from the league-phase format introduced in 2024-25, which also gives the Champions League and Conference League their own dedicated weeks.

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