"The 2025-26 Europa League gets fully under way this week - with the unusual format of nine matches taking place on Wednesday night. Nottingham Forest and Celtic are among the 18 teams in action on the opening night, while Aston Villa and Rangers begin their campaigns in the more traditional Thursday night slot. Much like the Champions League's return last week, the upcoming matches are part of an exclusive week for the Europa League, with no Champions League or Conference League fixtures scheduled."
"Traditionally, all matches in the competition take place on a Thursday night. That will remain the case throughout the rest of the Europa League season. The exclusive week of matches for all three of Europe's club competitions started last season and have remained in place this term. The 'exclusive' concept allows Uefa to showcase its major European competitions and give all three editions their own sole focus."
"Nine Europa League matches take place this Wednesday: Midtjylland v Sturm Graz (17:45 BST) PAOK v Maccabi Tel Aviv (17:45 BST) Dinamo Zagreb v Fenerbahce (20:00 BST) Red Star Belgrade v Celtic (20:00 BST) Freiburg v Basel (20:00 BST) Malmo v Ludogorets Razgrad (20:00 BST) Nice v Roma (20:00 BST) Real Betis v Nottingham Forest (20:00 BST) Braga v Feyenoord (20:00 BST)"
The Europa League opening round features an unusual schedule with nine matches on Wednesday and additional fixtures on Thursday. Nottingham Forest and Celtic are among 18 teams playing on the opening night, while Aston Villa and Rangers start their campaigns on the traditional Thursday slot. UEFA has scheduled an exclusive week for each major club competition so the Europa League, Champions League and Conference League receive sole focus on different weeks. Matches usually occur on Thursdays and will continue to do so for the remainder of the Europa League season. A full Wednesday fixture list includes times for each match.
Read at www.bbc.com
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