Manchester United and Tottenham as favourites, Lyon and Nice as outsiders, a new, more open formula… Three questions on the C3

The Europa League resumes on Wednesday, with two French representatives in the running: Lyon and Nice.

After the launch of the new Champions League format last week, the Europa League restarts on Wednesday, September 25. Based on the same model as the C1, with a regular phase of eight matches for each team and a single group, the second European competition offers a new format. Without the teams transferred from the Champions League, the C3 seems more open. This season, there will no longer be 32 but 36 teams competing for the title.

English teams the only big favourites?

Who will succeed Atalanta Bergamo? Manchester United, Tottenham, AS Roma, Lazio, Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad, Eintracht Frankfurt, FC Porto, Ajax Amsterdam, so many teams that can claim to win the final trophy. However, the English clubs appear to be the best equipped. The Red Devils have, on paper, the best squad with Marcus Rashford, Joshua Zirkzee, Bruno Fernandes and Matthijs de Ligt. The Spurs, led by Heung-min Son, also have an expanded squad, capable of performing on all fronts. However, in the last ten years, the title has only been won twice by English clubs.

The Europa League masters are often Spanish. On the other side of the Pyrenees, Real Sociedad, impressive last year in the Champions League, will have to be reckoned with, as will Athletic Bilbao, with European champion Nico Williams. The Roman clubs, AS Roma and Lazio, have arguments in their favour, as does Eintracht Frankfurt, winner in 2022. On the rise in recent years, the Turkish clubs (Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Besiktas) will also have a card to play.

What are the objectives for OL and OGC Nice?

Last year, four French teams (Toulouse, Marseille, Rennes and Lens, who have since been transferred to the Champions League) reached the final phase of the Europa League. This year, only two Ligue 1 teams are present in C3. OL and OGC Nice will be aiming for qualification for the knockout phase. Two years after leaving the European scene, Lyon are keen to do well in a competition where they have always managed to get past the group stage, and where OM reached the last four last season.

Nice can also aspire to a good campaign in the Europa League. With a rather even draw, Franck Haise’s players can aim for the final phase of the competition. For the Aiglons, a European adventure would be welcome. The Niçois have not reached the round of 16 of C3 since 1973.

Will the new format encourage teams to play the competition to the full?

As with the clubs involved in the Champions League, the Europa League teams will have more games to play. Two additional matches are scheduled. The eight groups of four clubs are therefore thrown out to make way for a single group, at the end of which the eight best teams qualify directly for the round of 16, with those finishing between 9th and 24th place going through a play-off to reach the knockout phase.

In recent years, the main European teams, particularly English ones, have taken advantage of the Europa League to rotate their squads. With this new formula, will the ambitions of the players change?

Nice-Real Sociedad, Lyon-Frankfurt, Fenerbahce-Lyon… What dates should we remember?

• September 25: Nice-Real Sociedad
• September 26: Lyon-Olympiakos
• October 3: Lazio-Nice
• November 28: Nice-Rangers
• December 12: Lyon-Frankfurt
• January 23: Fenerbahce-Lyon