Europa League final day: Who is through and what's at stake?
2025-01-30
Category: sports

The inaugural Europa League league phase is set for an exciting conclusion on Thursday - with plenty still to play for.All 18 games will be played at the same time - at 20:00 GMT.Manchester United and Tottenham can both secure a place in the top eight and with it direct passage to the last 16.Rangers could join them should they win and other results go in their favour.All three are guaranteed at least a place in the play-off round.
How many teams qualify for the knockout phase?
Those finishing in the top eight automatically progress to the last 16, where they will be seeded.They will await the winners of eight two-leg knockout play-off ties featuring the clubs ranked from ninth to 24th.Teams finishing between ninth and 16th will be seeded for the play-offs and face a side placed 17th to 24th, with the advantage of playing the second leg at home.Clubs who finish 25th or lower are eliminated.Play-off ties take place in mid-February, with last-16 matches in the first two weeks of March.
What's at stake for British clubs?
A late Bruno Fernandes goal gave Manchester United a 2-1 victory against Rangers last week.That moved United up to fourth in the league table with 15 points, meaning victory at Romanian side FCSB will cement a top-eight finish. A draw might be enough depending on results elsewhere.Tottenham, meanwhile, put themselves on the verge of a place in the knockouts by winning 3-2 at Hoffenheim.Spurs are sixth on 14 points, meaning only a win against Elfsborg would guarantee a place in the last 16.Rangers may have suffered frustration with the late Fernandes goal, but they have still done enough to secure at least a place in the play-off round.They are 13th on 11 points, three ahead of Porto in 25th place.But the combination of fixtures on the final day means - according to Uefa - that the Ibrox side have done enough before welcoming Belgians Union Saint-Gilloise. A win for either side could - if other results fall kindly - lift them into the top eight.
Who has qualified and who is out?
Lazio have cemented their place in the knockouts as the Italians have 19 points from seven games, six more points than Galatasaray in ninth with just one game remaining.As well as the three British teams, Anderlecht, Athletic Bilbao, AZ Alkmaar, Bodo/Glimt, Eintracht Frankfurt, FCSB, Galatasaray, Lyon, Olympiakos, Union SG and Viktoria Plzen are guaranteed at least a place in the play-off round.Dynamo Kyiv, Nice, Qarabag, Ludogorets, Malmo, Slavia Prague and RFS are all mathematically unable to finish in the top 24.There will be just one game with nothing to play for on the final day - Slavia Prague versus Malmo.Select to see the Europa League table
What else is there to watch out for?
Eintracht Frankfurt are second in the table and remain on track for the top eight after beating Ferencvaros last week.Ajax are 16th and cannot finish in the top eight after they lost 1-0 to Latvians RFS last week. The Dutch giants will look to beat Galatasaray in their final league phase game to be assured of a play-off spot.Roma's top-eight hopes are also over after former Tottenham forward Troy Parrott fired AZ Alkmaar to a 1-0 victory against the Italian side.Roma, who sit 21st in the table, have a tough test against Frankfurt in their final game.