Right now, only 13 clubs are already through to the Europa League league phase without kicking a ball - while dozens more, some of them dropping straight down from the Champions League, are still fighting for one of the remaining spots. Here's how it actually works, and where every club stands as of 4 August 2026.

The Format

Already Confirmed - 13 Clubs

The Europa League's own automatic slots are much more limited than the Champions League's - most come from a specific domestic cup-winner or league-position berth rather than raw coefficient rank, which is why only 13 clubs skip qualifying entirely. Most of the remaining 23 league-phase places are filled via qualifying, and a large share of that qualifying field is actually made up of clubs who were originally chasing a Champions League spot.

AFC Bournemouth

Sunderland AFC

Crystal Palace

AC Milan

Juventus

Real Sociedad

Celta de Vigo

1899 Hoffenheim

Bayer Leverkusen

Olympique Marseille

Stade Rennais

AZ Alkmaar

União Torreense

Still Fighting for a Spot - 31 Clubs

About half of this round's Main Path ties are populated by the loser of an equivalent-round Champions League tie - UEFA's cascade rule sends CL qualifying losers straight into the Europa League at the same stage, no separate draw needed. Where that Champions League tie hadn't been played yet at the time of writing, the note below says so explicitly - honest uncertainty, not a guess. Winners advance to the Play-off Round on 20 August.

Champions Path

Larne FCDropped from Champions League Q2 (lost to Red Star Belgrade)

vs

Iberia 1999 TbilisiDropped from Champions League Q2 (lost to Slovan Bratislava)

Winner plays the winner of Jagiellonia Białystok – Rangers FC

Lincoln Red ImpsDropped from Champions League Q2 (lost to Mjällby AIF)

vs

Omonia NicosiaDropped from Champions League Q2 (lost to Kairat Almaty)

Winner plays K. Sint-Truidense VV

KuPS KuopioDropped from Champions League Q2 (lost to Sabah FK)

vs

Universitatea CraiovaDropped from Champions League Q2 (lost to Levski Sofia)

Winner plays the loser of this week's Champions League tie: Ararat-Armenia vs NK Celje

Shamrock RoversDropped from Champions League Q2 (lost to Ararat-Armenia)

vs

KF EgnatiaDropped from Champions League Q2 (lost to NK Celje)

Winner plays Lillestrøm SK

Lech PoznańDropped from Champions League Q2 (lost to AGF Aarhus)

vs

KÍ KlaksvíkDropped from Champions League Q2 (lost to Kauno Žalgiris)

Winner plays the winner of FC Thun – Víkingur Reykjavík

FC ThunDropped from Champions League Q2 (lost to Dinamo Zagreb)

vs

Víkingur ReykjavíkDropped from Champions League Q2 (lost to Hapoel Beer-Sheva)

Winner plays the winner of Lech Poznań – KÍ Klaksvík

Main Path

Hradec KrálovéBye to EL Q2Q2: beat Tromsø IL

vs

BeşiktaşBye to EL Q2Q2: beat FC Midtjylland

Winner plays the loser of this week's Champions League tie: Dinamo Zagreb vs Kauno Žalgiris

Jagiellonia BiałystokBye straight to EL Q3

vs

Rangers FCBye straight to EL Q3

Winner plays the winner of Larne FC – Iberia 1999 Tbilisi

PAOKBye to EL Q2Q2: beat Dynamo Kyiv

vs

AnderlechtBye to EL Q2Q2: beat Hammarby IF

Winner plays the loser of this week's Champions League tie: Levski Sofia vs Kairat Almaty

Pafos FCBye to EL Q2Q2: beat Hajduk Split

vs

SalzburgBye straight to EL Q3

Winner plays the loser of this week's Champions League tie: Mjällby AIF vs Slovan Bratislava

BenficaBye to EL Q2Q2: beat FC Sankt Gallen

vs

Heart of MidlothianDropped from Champions League Q2 (lost to Sturm Graz)

Winner plays the loser of this week's Champions League tie: AGF Aarhus vs Sabah FK

Maccabi Tel-AvivBye to EL Q2Q2: beat Sheriff Tiraspol

vs

CSKA SofiaQ1: beat Derry City (5-3 agg)Q2: beat Qarabağ FK

Winner plays OFI Heraklion

FerencvárosQ1: won (top seed)Q2: beat FC Twente

vs

Górnik ZabrzeDropped from Champions League Q2 (lost to Fenerbahçe)

Winner plays Trabzonspor

Already through to the Play-off Round (20 Aug), no Q3 tie

TrabzonsporPlays the winner of Ferencváros – Górnik Zabrze

K. Sint-Truidense VVPlays the winner of Lincoln Red Imps – Omonia Nicosia

Viktoria PlzeňPlays the loser of this week's Champions League tie: Hapoel Beer-Sheva vs Red Star Belgrade

Lillestrøm SKPlays the winner of Shamrock Rovers – KF Egnatia

OFI HeraklionPlays the winner of Maccabi Tel-Aviv – CSKA Sofia

Title-holders Get a Guaranteed Seat

Crystal Palace didn't finish high enough in the Premier League for an automatic Europa League place - but as reigning Conference League champions, the rules guarantee them one anyway, bumping England's next-best-ranked club down to the Conference League play-off round instead.

Snapshot as of 4 August 2026 - Rules: official UEFA Europa League regulations, 2024–27 cycle. Sourced from kassiesa.net's UEFA Coefficients Database and UEFA's own round-by-round draw announcements.