Sunderland will make their Europa League debut in 2026/27, a reward for finishing sixth in the 2025/26 Premier League after a season that followed promotion through the playoffs. Regis Le Bris and his players will face eight different opponents in the league phase, including a trip to Milan.
The Black Cats opened their campaign with a home win over Alkmaar. If they go on to lift the trophy, they would become the third successive English club to win the competition, after Aston Villa’s triumph last season and Tottenham’s title in 2024/25.
Milan, the club Sunderland will visit, have won the Champions League seven times.
How the league phase works
The format has changed from the group stage that was used until 2023/24. Each team now plays eight matches in the league phase, and every fixture is against a different opponent.
The top eight sides in the table go straight into the round of 16. Teams placed ninth to 24th enter a knockout phase playoff played over two legs for a place in the last 16. Any team finishing 25th or lower is out of Europe for the season.
Squad and List B rules
Sunderland have registered a squad for the league phase. List B submissions, marked by asterisks, cover players born after January 1, 2005 who have been eligible to play for the club for an uninterrupted period of two years since their 15th birthday. Those can be made until midnight before each match.
English clubs and the final
Bournemouth and Sunderland are the English clubs in the 2026/27 Europa League. According to the source, both qualified through their 2025/26 Premier League positions, and Sunderland also qualified by winning the 2025/26 Conference League. For Bournemouth, it will be a first ever appearance in European competition.
The final will be held at Stadion Frankfurt in Frankfurt, Germany, the home of Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt.
In the UK, matches are shown on TNT Sports and can be streamed through the HBO Max app. Subscriptions start at £30.99 and include Eurosport and entertainment, with availability on a wide range of devices such as smart TVs and gaming consoles.
Sunderland’s first Europa League campaign is under way with a home victory over Alkmaar and eight different league phase opponents to come. The road ahead includes a knockout phase playoff for teams finishing ninth to 24th and a final at Stadion Frankfurt. If Le Bris’ side go all the way, they would make it three successive English winners of the competition.
