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UEFA Europa League trophy on display
Amir Azimi
Football

Juventus and Milan Face Tough Europa League Paths

The Montecarlo draw has laid out a long, winding Europa League road for Juventus and Milan, the only Italian clubs in the 2026-27 edition. No glamour group, no easy route. Just a relentless league phase that will test depth, mentality and the work of two coaches under sharp scrutiny.

Spalletti’s Juventus face a minefield of styles

Luciano Spalletti walked off the pitch in Frosinone last weekend looking drained, his Juventus side already under the microscope in Serie A. Now he knows what awaits him in Europe.

The Bianconeri’s league-phase schedule throws them into a mix of technical, physical and awkward opponents:

  • Real Sociedad (H)
  • AZ Alkmaar (A)
  • Rennes (H)
  • Ferencváros (A)
  • Omonia (H)
  • Celta Vigo (A)
  • NEC (H)
  • Hapoel Beer Sheva (A)

It’s not the kind of draw that screams headline glamour, but it is one that can punish any lapse in focus. Real Sociedad bring their usual blend of possession football and sharp movement. AZ Alkmaar, away, is the sort of trip Italian clubs have learned to respect the hard way. Rennes, on Italian soil, will not shy away from pressing high.

Then come the traps that define a Europa League campaign. Ferencváros in Budapest. Celta Vigo in Spain. A long flight to Israel to face Hapoel Beer Sheva. These are the nights when rotations are risky, yet fatigue is real. Omonia and NEC, on paper, look manageable, but in a league-phase format every point dropped can drag a heavyweight into the chaos of the mid-table pack.

Juventus finished sixth in Serie A last season. That position has consequences. There is no safety net of seeding that clears the way. Spalletti must knit together a side capable of handling contrasting atmospheres and tactical puzzles, week after week, from mid-September to late January.

For a club that measures itself in trophies, merely surviving this phase will not be enough. The aim is clear: finish in the top eight of the overall table and go straight to the Round of 16. Anything lower, from ninth to 24th, means an extra knock-out play-off round, extra stress, extra miles.

Amorim’s Milan get heavyweight clashes and hostile trips

On the other side of the draw, Ruben Amorim’s Milan discovered a schedule that feels like a tour of European football’s many faces. Fifth place in Serie A last season brought them here; the draw has given them a campaign rich in narrative and risk.

Milan’s league-phase opponents:

  • Benfica (H)
  • Olympiacos (A)
  • Ferencváros (H)
  • Salzburg (A)
  • Sunderland (H)
  • Bournemouth (A)
  • Ararat (H)
  • Levski Sofia (A)

Benfica at San Siro is a tie worthy of a later round, two clubs with deep European history meeting early in this new format. Olympiacos in Piraeus, with the stands roaring, is never just another away game. Salzburg away adds intensity and tempo, a test of how well Amorim’s ideas travel against a young, energetic side.

Then there is the English flavor. Sunderland and Bournemouth might not carry the aura of the Premier League’s elite, but they bring physicality, rhythm and a league culture built on high-speed football. Sunderland at home, Bournemouth away: two fixtures that could shape Milan’s momentum.

Ferencváros again appear on an Italian club’s path, this time at San Siro. Ararat and Levski Sofia complete the picture, fixtures that demand professionalism more than spectacle. A cold night in Sofia can undo a month of good work if approached lightly.

Milan’s European story under Amorim will be judged on how convincingly they navigate this blend of tradition, hostility and tactical variety. The margin for error in the league phase is wider than in the old group system, but complacency will drag big clubs into complicated play-off ties in February.

A long campaign with little room to breathe

The new Europa League league phase kicks off on September 16/17 and runs through to January 28, 2027. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, yet the standings can turn on a single bad week.

The rules are simple, the implications brutal.

  • Top eight overall: straight into the Round of 16.
  • Ninth to 24th: knock-out play-off, two more games, two more chances to stumble.

The final waits in Frankfurt on May 26, 2027. Between now and then, Juventus and Milan must turn today’s list of fixtures into a coherent campaign.

For Spalletti, the draw is a test of whether his Juventus can rediscover the authority the club once carried automatically in Europe. For Amorim, it’s a stage to show that Milan’s fifth-place finish was a platform, not a ceiling.

The schedule is set. The rest will reveal how much weight Serie A still carries on Thursday nights in Europe.

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