How does the UEFA Europa League work? Competition format explained for 2023/24

The 2023/24 UEFA Europa League will offer major sides from across the continent the chance to win European silverware this season as the competition restarts.

There will be extra Premier League interest in the 2023/24 tournament with three English sides competing in the group stages as defending champions Sevilla have been elevated into the Champions League.

Liverpool are back in the Europa League for the first time since 2016, with West Ham's UEFA Europa Conference League title moving them up into the Europa League, alongside European debutants Brighton & Hove Albion.

The competition's group stage kicks off on September 21 with teams from across Europe dreaming of glory at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on May 22, 2024.

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For the group stages, 32 qualified teams have been divided into eight groups of four teams each, with the top two sides in each group in a position to qualify for the knockout stages.

Group winners automatically qualify for the knockout round and runners-up compete in playoffs against teams dropping down from the Champions League.

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Each team will play six group games, between Matchday One (September 21) to Matchday Six (December 14). The four teams in each group play each other twice, home and away.

The group standings are determined first by total points, and then by goal difference. The group winners progress automatically to the knockout round, while those who finish second will enter a playoff round against eight teams dropping out of the Champions League after finishing third in their group.

Those who finish third in their Europa League group will go into a playoff round to