It's Mourinho v Ten Hag in the Europa League

José Mourinho, the former Manchester United manager, is set for a compelling reunion with his old club in this season's Europa League.

Now at the helm of Turkish giants Fenerbahce, the seasoned and charismatic Portuguese manager will face off against the team he once led to European glory in the same competition in 2017.

Mourinho will be aiming to win his sixth European title having won the Champions League with Porto and Inter Milan, The UEFA Cup also with Porto, The Europa League with Manchester United and the Europa Conference League with Roma.

Erik Ten Hag is still looking for his first European title triumph having taken Ajax to the semi finals of the Champions League in 2019. Manchester United crashed out of the Europa League last season in the Quarter Finals to Sevilla 5-2 on aggregate after throwing away a two-goal lead in the first leg at Old Trafford.

So when are Manchester United's Europa League fixtures taking place and on which dates?

1 - Twente (H) - 25th September 2024

2 - FC Porto (A) - 3rd October 2024

3 - Fenerbache (A) - 24th October 2024

4 - PAOK (H) - 7th November 2024

5 - Bodo Glimt (H) - 28th November 2024

6 - Vitoria Plzen (A) - 12th December 2024

7 - Rangers (H) - 29th January 2025

8 - FCSB (A) - 30th January 2025

Of course, similarly to the Champions League, the format has now changed for the upcoming season for the Europa League.

Here is everything you need to know for this year’s Europa League including the new format and prize money.

FORMAT

In the old Europa League group stage, teams were divided into 8 groups of 4 however for the 2024/2025 season the new format will become one consolidated 36-team league stage.

Each club who qualifies will face 8 different teams, playing 4 games at home and 4 games away.

The top 8 teams will advance directly to the Last 16, whilst the teams finishing from 9th to 24th will contest the knockout round play-offs, with all 8 winners of the two-legged ties progressing to the Last 16.

The tournament becomes a knockout format from the Last 16 onwards, with two-legged ties at each round until the final on 21st May 2025. The final of the Europa League will take place at the Estadio de San Mamés in Bilbao, Spain.

DRAW FOR LEAGUE PHASE

The draw for the Europa League stage took place on 30th August 2024. The same day the transfer window closed for the Premier League.

GAME WEEKS

• Gameweek 1: 25th & 26th Sept 2024
• Gameweek 2: 3rd October 2024
• Gameweek 3: 24th October 2024
• Gameweek 4: 7th November 2024
• Gameweek 5: 28th November 2024
• Gameweek 6: 12th December 2024
• Gameweek 7: 23rd January 2025
• Gameweek 8: 30th January 2025

DRAW FOR KNOCK OUT PHASE

The draw for the knockout round play-offs, for the clubs finishing 9th to 24th, will take place on 31st January 2025. The two leg ties for those playoffs are set to be played on 13th and 20th February 2025.

The draw for the Last 16, Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals will be held on 21st February 2025.

GAME WEEKS

The Game Weeks for the knock out stages will occur on the following dates:

• Last 16: 6th and 13th March 2025
• Quarter-Finals: 10 and 17 April 2025
• Semi-Finals: 1st and 8th May 2025
• Final: 21st May 2025

WINNERS

The winners of the UEFA Europa League 2024/2025 will earn a place in the league stages of the 2025/26 Champions League, provided they have not already qualified via their domestic league.

PRIZE MONEY

So how much is the Prize Money in the Europa League this year?

Breakdown of Europa League Prize Money for 2024/2025

All clubs who qualify for the league phase will earn a League Phase allocation of €4.31M

League Format (Win or Draw). There will be 8 games in the new format.

• €450k for a win
• €150k for a draw

League Finishing Position

• 1st to 8th: €600k
• 9th to 16th: €300k

Knockout Stages

• Last 16: €1.75M
• Quarter Finals: €2.5M
• Semi Finals: €4.2M
• Finalists: €7M
• Winner: €6M