New Europa League format explained, plus dates for Tottenham’s first fixtures
Tottenham Hotspur have qualified for next season’s Europa League, but things will look a little bit different for the competition as new format changes come...
The post New Europa League format explained, plus dates for Tottenham’s first fixtures appeared first on The Spurs Web - Tottenham Hotspur Football News.
Tottenham Hotspur have qualified for next season’s Europa League, but things will look a little bit different for the competition as new format changes come into play to make the tournament more competitive. Here’s how it will affect Spurs and when they could be playing.
After spending almost the entire season in the top five, Spurs missed out on fourth place and the Champions League by just two points, with Aston Villa doing just enough to join Europe’s elite competition next season.
A win against Sheffield United on the final day of the Premier League season secured Tottenham fifth place and guaranteed participation in next season’s Europa League.
Ange Postecoglou will now get a chance to prove himself in Europe next year, but the competition is moving away from the traditional group stage format, so here’s a look at how things are being shaken up for the 2024/25 season.
Europa League changes explained
As opposed to the previous 32 teams being split into eight groups, there will now be 36 teams taking part in one large league table. Teams will be drawn against eight opponents from different seeded pots, with four home games and four away games to be played in the first stage of the Europa League.
The teams that finish in the top eight of the league table after these games will automatically qualify for the round of 16 knockout games. Teams finishing in places 9-24 will take part in a play-off knockout round to find another eight teams who will progress to the last 16.
The remaining 12 teams will be eliminated from the competition. Interestingly, there will also be no teams dropping out of the Champions League entering the Europa League from now on.
Fans will find out who Spurs will be playing when the Europa League draw takes place on August 29th. The eight league games will take place on the following dates:
- Matchday 1: 25/26 September, 2024
- Matchday 2: 3 October, 2024
- Matchday 3: 24 October, 2024
- Matchday 4: 7 November, 2024
- Matchday 5: 28 November, 2024
- Matchday 6: 12 December, 2024
- Matchday 7: 23 January, 2025
- Matchday 8: 30 January, 2025
Spurs Web Opinion
It’ll be weird to see this new format after we’ve been so accustomed to the way things work in these competitions, but I’m quite intrigued by how it will play out. I am very excited to see the draw and look forward to seeing how Spurs can perform in the competition next season — hopefully, we can go all the way.
The post New Europa League format explained, plus dates for Tottenham’s first fixtures appeared first on The Spurs Web - Tottenham Hotspur Football News.