Three reasons to be excited ahead of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League season

[p]Ahead of the opening matchweek, [i]Flashscore[/i] looks at three reasons fans should be excited for what this campaign has to offer.[/p][h2]New nation, second tier side amongst debut teams[/h2][p]As ever, one of the most exciting aspects of the Europa League are the new names in the competition proper. There are 10 teams who will play their first-ever group phase match in the UEL this week.[/p][p]Among the debutants are [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ararat-armenia/xlT9cL89/"]Ararat-Armenia[/a], who got the better of Universitatea Craiova in August's play-off round. It makes Armenia the 40th country to have a representative in the Europa League group stage or league phase under the tournament's current guise.[/p][p]Also making their bow are second division club [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/torreense/8jQErKhN/"]Torreense[/a], who won the Portuguese Cup at the expense of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sporting-cp/tljXuHBC/"]Sporting CP[/a] back in May. After becoming the first-ever lower-tier side to lift Portugal's domestic cup competition, SCUT will be their first second-division team at this stage of a European competition since [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/zurich/COCe5tXi/"]FC Zurich[/a] 11 years ago.[/p][embed guid="eb7e61e2-8164-4fdd-ae66-8aa49cc9bc3c" url="https://x.com/scu_torreense/status/2094121026338640080?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]All three of England's UEL contingent are in the main round for the very first time. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/crystal-palace/AovF1Mia/"]Crystal Palace[/a] qualified as UEFA Conference League holders, while [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bournemouth/OtpNdwrc/"]Bournemouth[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sunderland/WSzc94ws/"]Sunderland[/a] joined them thanks to their Premier League performances. Remarkably, this is the second time three English sides have made their UEL debut in the same campaign - [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/tottenham/UDg08Ohm/"]Tottenham[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/stoke-city/hSUajdSS/"]Stoke[/a], and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/birmingham/SWk4muv7/"]Birmingham[/a] did so back in the 2011/12 edition.[/p][p]Completing the set of newbies in the league phase are Slovenia's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/celje/SpbURe4O/"]Celje[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nijmegen/nRluRF0T/"]NEC Nijmegen[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ofi-crete/bTObIPJB/"]OFI Crete[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/lillestrom/xYWBZlwN/"]Lillestrom[/a], and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/jagiellonia/lIDaZJTc/"]Jagiellonia Bialystok[/a]. [/p][h2]Former European winners look to add to collection[/h2][p]There are a host of former Champions League/European Cup and Europa League/UEFA Cup winners in this year's tournament. That always adds further intrigue to the competition.[/p][p]Italian duo [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ac-milan/8Sa8HInO/"]AC Milan[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/juventus/C06aJvIB/"]Juventus[/a] are among the biggest names to feature, with the pair combining for 15 European trophies. In fact, Juve are the only team of the 36 to have won the UEFA Cup - the Europa League's predecessor - on multiple occasions. They are Milan are among the favourites to lift the trophy in Frankfurt come May.[/p][embed guid="b9585b57-7fff-4c7e-b571-f55c66af9769" url="https://x.com/IFTVofficial/status/2093303835729027097?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/benfica/zBkyuyRI/"]Benfica[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/celtic/QFKRRD8M/"]Celtic[/a], and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/marseille/SblU3Hee/"]Marseille[/a] are the other former UCL winners involved, with all three sides having played in UEL finals before.  With that said, the trio are all chasing their first piece of silverware in this competition after losing a combined seven finals. Both Benfica and Marseille have played in the showpiece in the UEL era.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/anderlecht/vslqAKNo/"]Anderlecht[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bayer-leverkusen/4jcj2zMd/"]Bayer Leverkusen[/a] are also among sides to have won the UEFA Cup. The German outfit even reached the final in 2023/24, losing to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/atalanta/8C9JjMXu/"]Atalanta[/a]. They, along with fellow former finalists [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/az-alkmaar/2RxOow1i/"]AZ Alkmaar[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/salzburg/Olvehxrl/"]RB Salzburg[/a], have plenty of UEL group phase experience to count on.[/p][p]Meanwhile, two more recent champions on the continental scene - Crystal Palace and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/olympiacos-piraeus/hnzvnHPS/"]Olympiakos Piraeus[/a] - claimed their trophies in the Conference League.[/p][p]With so many teams with a past of winning in Europe, it is now a matter of whether any of them can add to their collection come season's end.[/p][h2]Can England and Spain keep up UEL domination?[/h2][p]One other thing to keep an eye on in this season's UEL is whether England and Spain can continue the unbridled success they have had.[/p][p]Of the 17 previous editions of the Europa League, 14 of them have been won by a club from LaLiga (nine times) or the Premier League (five), with the latter supplying the last two champions. Of the 10 different sides to prevail, seven of them hail from one of the two countries.[/p][embed guid="e228c737-dbf6-49b1-88dd-9fe5cb6e391c" url="https://x.com/EuropaLeague/status/2093353411785675202?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Spain's dominance in particular is worth the watch. Before the 2022/23 campaign where Sevilla picked up their seventh title, they had never gone consecutive years without having a side come out on top. The last three seasons have not seen a LaLiga side make the final, which is somewhat surprising.[/p][p]Portugal, Germany, and Italy are the only other countries to have a winning team in the competition since it rebranded from the UEFA Cup in 2009/10. Interestingly enough, all three finals did not feature a team from England or Spain.[/p][p]We are already guaranteed a new winner of the Europa League under its current name, with five of the 36 teams in this term's league phase hailing from Spain or England. Extra pressure is certainly on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/real-sociedad/jNvak2f3/"]Real Sociedad[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/celta-vigo/8pvUZFhf/"]Celta Vigo[/a], Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, and Sunderland to deliver and keep up the strong showings from their respective nations.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/soccer/europe/europa-league/"]Follow the UEFA Europa League action live on Flashscore![/a][/b][/p]