Why Are Europa League Matches Scheduled for Wednesday?

An Unusual Opening Week

The 2025-26 Europa League kicks off this week, featuring the unique occurrence of nine matches being held on a Wednesday night. Notable participants like Nottingham Forest and Celtic will be in action along with 16 other teams, while clubs such as Aston Villa and Rangers will start their campaigns on the traditionally reserved Thursday night.

Exclusive Match Week Concept

This round of fixtures mirrors last week’s Champions League matches, forming part of a special week exclusively dedicated to the Europa League, without any competing Champions League or Conference League games. Historically, this competition has been known for holding all its matches on Thursday nights, a pattern that will continue for the remainder of the season.

This exclusive match week approach was introduced last season and persists this year, aiming to give each of Europe’s top club competitions dedicated exposure.

Wednesday Match Fixtures

Below are the nine Europa League fixtures taking place this Wednesday:

• Midtjylland vs. Sturm Graz (17:45 BST)
• PAOK vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv (17:45 BST)
• Dinamo Zagreb vs. Fenerbahce (20:00 BST)
• Red Star Belgrade vs. Celtic (20:00 BST)
• Freiburg vs. Basel (20:00 BST)
• Malmo vs. Ludogorets Razgrad (20:00 BST)
• Nice vs. Roma (20:00 BST)
• Real Betis vs. Nottingham Forest (20:00 BST)
• Braga vs. Feyenoord (20:00 BST)

Nottingham Forest returns to the Europa League for the first time since the 1995-96 season, when the tournament was still referred to as the UEFA Cup.

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