Europa League draw LIVE: Bournemouth, Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Celtic to learn opponents | OneFootball

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The draw for the Europa League takes place this afternoon with the three Premier League clubs involved in the competition discovering who they will face in the league phase of the tournament.

Bournemouth and Sunderland both qualified for the competition after finishing sixth and seventh in the top-flight last season and will feature in Europe’s second tier tournament this year. It will be the first time that Bournemouth have undertaken a European campaign while Sunderland are playing in Europe for the first time since the 1973-74 season.

They will be joined by Crystal Palace after the Eagles won the Conference League title last season under Oliver Glasner. Palace are now led by Pierre Sage who will mastermind their campaign and hope to take them into the further reaches of the Europa League this term.

Joining these three clubs in the competition are Celtic, after their painful defeat in Champions League play-offs, as well as European heavyweights Juventus, AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen while Olympiacos, Real Sociedad, Marseille and more bring plenty of experience to a tournament that will be difficult for the English teams.

When is the Europa League final?

The 2026/27 Europa League final will be staged at Stadion Frankfurt in Frankfurt, Germany, on 26 May 2027.

Originally opened in 1925, the arena has been upgraded several times, and recently hosted five games at Euro 2024, along with matches at the 2005 Fifa Confederations Cup and 2006 World Cup.

Which teams will complete the road to Frankfurt and face off in the final come May?

O'Neill on Champions League play-off disappointment

Martin O’Neill admitted the defeat ranked as one of his most painful nights as Celtic manager.

“I would say absolutely, yes,” he said. “I’d put it down before the disappointment of losing the Uefa Cup final in 2003, but it’s so, so disappointing.

“We should have been out of sight by half-time. We scored a goal, which was great, we missed two great, great opportunities. And then we give them a lifeline just before half-time and then one just after it. And they come roaring back.

“And obviously we conceded, from our viewpoint, not good goals at all. But that’s my team and that’s my responsibility.

“I’m disappointed that we’ve conceded the goals in the manner which we did.”

Celtic boss Martin O'Neill took responsibility for the capitulation (Getty)

McGregor has 'no excuses' for Celtic collapse

Celtic captain Callum McGregor accepted there were no excuses for the players after their incredible Champions League play-off collapse.

“We got what we deserved,” McGregor told Amazon Prime. “I thought we were so passive. All night. We actually looked scared to go and win the game, and when you are 3-0 up it’s psychological.

“To be honest I didn’t think we were that good in the first leg either. We scored at good times and kind of got away with it. You go 3-0 and you think you’ve got a real chance but when you play like that you can’t have any excuse whatsoever.”

Europa League match schedule

Matchday 1: 16/17 September 2026

Matchday 2: 15 October 2026

Matchday 3: 22 October 2026

Matchday 4: 5 November 2026

Matchday 5: 26 November 2026

Matchday 6: 10 December 2026

Matchday 7: 21 January 2027

Matchday 8: 28 January 2027

Mike Jones28 August 2026 10:23

When is the Europa League draw?

The draw will begin from 12pm BST on Friday 28 August.

If the Champions League is anything to go by, the first ball could be drawn at around 12:30pm.

The draw will be broadcast on TNT Sports 1 and HBO Max in the United Kingdom, the joint host broadcasters in the UK of the Champions League alongside Prime Video.

As with the past couple of seasons, the draw will arrange the eight matches each team contests in the 36-team first phase – facing two teams from pots one, two, three and four.

Half of the matches will be at home, the other half away.

Good morning!

Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of today’s Europa League draw.

The draw takes place at 12.00pm and will determine the fixture list for the league phase of the competition.

Premier League clubs, Bournemouth, Sunderland and Crystal Palace will all discover who they face in the first phase of the competition as they seek to emulate Aston Villa and win the tournament this year.

We’ll have all the important information you’ll need to know ahead of the draw and live updates from the draw itself so stick around.