Crystal Palace Lead England’s Three-Club Europa League Charge

England will field three clubs in the 2026–27 UEFA Europa League as UEFA continues to operate its expanded European competition formats. Crystal Palace secured their place after defeating Spanish outfit Rayo Vallecano in the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League final, while AFC Bournemouth will make their maiden appearance in European competition. Sunderland entered the league phase through their 2025–26 Premier League finishing positions.

Palace began their second major European campaign in club history on Sept. 17, 2026, beating Polish club Lech Poznan 4–0 at Selhurst Park. Their league phase schedule also includes four away trips—to France, Turkey, Poland, and Austria—and four home fixtures in South London.

UEFA’s single-league system, introduced for its club competitions beginning in the 2024–25 cycle, replaced the traditional four-team group stage with a unified 36-team standings table. Each club plays eight fixtures in the initial phase, with four matches at home and four away against eight different opponents selected across seeded pots.

Palace’s opening result was recorded against Lech Poznan, and the remaining fixtures are scheduled as follows:

| Date | Opponent | Venue / Stage | Result |
| :— | :— | :— | :— |
| Sept. 17, 2026 | Lech Poznan | Home (League Phase) | W 4–0 |
| Oct. 15, 2026 | Lyon | Away (League Phase) | — |
| Oct. 22, 2026 | Besiktas | Away (League Phase) | — |
| Nov. 5, 2026 | Hoffenheim | Home (League Phase) | — |
| Nov. 26, 2026 | Real Sociedad | Home (League Phase) | — |
| Dec. 10, 2026 | Jagiellonia | Away (League Phase) | — |
| Jan. 21, 2027 | Sparta Praha | Home (League Phase) | — |
| Jan. 28, 2027 | Salzburg | Away (League Phase) | — |

The league-phase standings determine how clubs continue in the competition. Teams ranked 1 through 8 automatically qualify for the Round of 16, while those finishing from 9 through 24 enter a two-legged knockout phase play-off round for the remaining eight Round of 16 places. Clubs ranked 25 through 36 are eliminated from European competition for the rest of the season and do not move into lower-tier UEFA tournaments.

Palace’s registered List A squad contains up to 25 senior players submitted before the start of the league phase, subject to specific club-trained and association-trained home-grown player quotas. The 2026–27 Europa League list includes goalkeepers Remi Matthews and Walter Benitez; defenders Tyrick Mitchell, Axel Disasi, Chris Richards, Honest Ahanor, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Oscar Mingueza, and Ben Chilwell; and midfielders Daichi Kamada, Will Hughes, Adam Wharton, Jaydee Canvot, Darío Osorio, and Quinten Timber.

The forward group on List A is Ismaila Sarr, Eddie Nketiah, Yeremy Pino, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Jorgen Strand Larsen, Dwight McNeil, and Anan Khalaili. UEFA regulations also permit clubs to submit an unlimited List B roster up until midnight local time on the day preceding any match.

A List B player must be born on or after Jan. 1, 2005, and must have been eligible to play for the club for an uninterrupted period of two years since turning 15. The league phase concludes in late January before the tournament moves into its traditional two-legged knockout bracket.

The knockout phase play-offs are scheduled for Feb. 18 and Feb. 25, 2027, followed by the Round of 16 on March 11 and March 18. The quarter-finals are set for April 8 and April 15, and the semi-finals for April 29 and May 6. The final will take place on May 26, 2027.

The 2027 UEFA Europa League final is scheduled for Stadion Frankfurt in Frankfurt, Germany, the home venue of Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt.

In the United Kingdom, TNT Sports carries live television coverage and streaming distribution for the UEFA Europa League, with digital streaming available through the HBO Max platform. Standard subscription packages that include Eurosport and entertainment services start at £30.99 per month across supported smart televisions, streaming devices, and gaming platforms.