UEFA Europa League playoffs fixtures and results: Schedule, dates and times for all 2022/23 knockout qualifiers

Simon Borg

UEFA Europa League playoffs fixtures and results: Schedule, dates and times for all 2022/23 knockout qualifiers image

The 2022/23 Europa League playoff draw threw up some tantalising ties, not least Barcelona vs Manchester United, which saw the Red Devils triumph 3-2 in a pulsating tie.

Juventus were also involved at this stage and defeated Nantes over two legs, while Jose Mourinho's Roma got past RB Salzburg.

The teams that advanced from the knockout playoffs will join the eight Europa League group winners who earned direct berths in the tournament's Round of 16. That Round of 16 draw will take place on February 24.

In addition to the prestigious trophy and the prize money that comes with the Europa League, there's also an automatic berth at stake in the following season's UEFA Champions League group stage. Admission to that lucrative competition represents a welcome boost for clubs who fail to qualify for it via their domestic league finish.

MORE: Get all the results of the Europa League knockout playoffs draw

Europa League knockout playoffs schedule

Both legs of the Europa League playoffs will be played on a Thursday as is customary for the tournament.

With eight matches on the same day, four will be held in the early time slot (17:45 GMT / 12:45 ET) with the other four in the later window (20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET). As is also customary for competitive balance, the four matchups that feature in the early time window for the 1st leg will kick off in the later window for the 2nd leg.

Europa League Knockout Playoffs — 1st Leg results

Date Match result Time
(BST / ET)
Thu, Feb. 16 Barcelona 2-2 Manchester United 17:45 / 12:45
Thu, Feb. 16 Juventus 1-1 Nantes 20:00 / 15:00
Thu, Feb. 16 Sporting CP 1-1 Midtjylland 20:00 / 15:00
Thu, Feb. 16 Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Rennes 17:45 / 12:45
Thu, Feb. 16 Ajax 0-0 Union Berlin 17:45 / 12:45
Thu, Feb. 16 Bayer Leverkusen 2-3 Monaco 20:00 / 15:00
Thu, Feb. 16 Sevilla 3-0 PSV 20:00 / 15:00
Thu, Feb. 16 Salzburg 1-0 Roma 17:45 / 12:45

Europa League Knockout Playoffs — 2nd Legs

Date Match Time
(BST/ET)
Thu, Feb. 23 Manchester United 2-1 Barcelona 20:00 / 15:00
Thu, Feb. 23 Nantes 0-3 Juventus 17:45 / 12:45
Thu, Feb. 23 Midtjylland 0-4 Sporting CP 17:45 / 12:45
Thu, Feb. 23 Rennes 2-1 Shakhtar Donetsk (4-5 on pens) 20:00 / 15:00
Thu, Feb. 23 Union Berlin 3-1 Ajax 20:00 / 15:00
Thu, Feb. 23 Monaco 2-3 Bayer Leverkusen (3-5 on pens) 17:45 / 12:45
Thu, Feb. 23 PSV 2-0 Sevilla 17:45 / 12:45
Thu, Feb. 23 Roma 2-0 Salzburg 20:00 / 15:00

MORE: How does the Europa League work in 2022/23?

When is the Europa League Round of 16 draw?

The Europa League knockout playoffs will determine the eight teams that will join the eight Europa League group winners in the competition's Round of 16.

That Europa League Round of 16 draw will take place the day after the conclusion of the knockout playoffs round: Friday, February 24, 2023 at 13:00 CET / 12:00 GMT / 07:00 ET.

For purposes of this Round of 16 draw, the Europa League group winners will be considered the seeded teams. The qualifiers from the knockout round playoffs will form the unseeded group

The only restriction attached to the Round of 16 draw is that teams from the same country cannot be drawn together. That restriction disappears in the Europa League quarterfinal and semifinal draws which both take place on March 17, 2023.

Pot 1
Europa League
Group Winners
Pot 2
Europa Playoff Round
Teams
Arsenal (ENG) Juventus (ITA)
Fenerbahce (TUR) Bayer Leverkusen (GER)
Ferencvaros (HUN) Man United (ENG)
Feyenoord (NED) Roma (ITA)
Freiburg (GER) Sevilla (SPA)
Real Betis (SPA) Sporting CP (POR)
Real Sociedad (SPA) Union Berlin (GER)
Union Saint-Gilloise (BEL) Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)

MORE: Where is the 2023 Europa League final?

Europa League schedule for knockout rounds

It's a busy Europa League schedule in 2023 with a fresh round completed every month between February and May. 

There's a short turnaround for the teams that make the final. The semifinal second legs will be held on May 18 and the Europa League final comes just 13 days later and will be played at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on May 31.

  • Knockout Playoffs: Feb. 16 (1st Leg), Feb. 23 (2nd Leg)
  • Round of 16: March 9 (1st Leg), March 16 (2nd Leg)
  • Quarterfinals: April 13 (1st Leg), April 20 (2nd Leg)
  • Semifinals: May 11 (1st Leg), May 18 (2nd Leg)
  • Final: Wednesday, May 31, 2023

No away goals in Europa League

The away goals tiebreaker, which had been a feature of the knockout rounds in European cup tournaments since 1965, was abolished for 2021/22 with UEFA citing sporting justice among other reasons.

For over 50 years, the away goals tiebreaker came into play when teams were level on total goals scored at the conclusion of the second leg of a two-leg series. In that case, the first tiebreaker was the number of away goals scored, with the idea being that it encouraged road teams to attack instead of sitting back, thus improving the spectacle. Only if teams were also level on away goals did the teams proceed to extra time and penalty kicks (if necessary) to determine a winner.

Nowadays, If teams are level on total goals scored after the conclusion of the second leg, then a 30-minute extra time period is played, and if necessary, a penalty shootout is used to determine a winner should the deadlock persists through the extra session.

There were four series in the 2021/22 Europa League knockouts that required extra time and one that went to penalty kicks: Portuguese side Sporting Braga ousted Moldova's Sheriff Tiraspol in the knockout playoffs. The Europa League final also went to penalty kicks with Eintracht Frankfurt emerging victorious over Rangers.

Who will win the Europa League in 2023?

Before the knockout draw, the betting market said that it will be a club from England, Spain or Italy that will likely claim the 2023 Europa League crown in Budapest.

The two English clubs — Arsenal and Manchester United — are among the top three favorites. Below that are a pair of Italian powers in Juventus and Roma, who won the Europa Conference League trophy last season under Mourinho.

SC Freiburg are deemed most likely to make a run at the silverware among the three German clubs, with Stade Rennes deemed the best candidate among the three French clubs. As would be expected, Ajax were the highest rated of the three Dutch clubs, but they were eliminated by Union Berlin.

Odds below updated as of the eve of playoff draw in November 2022:

Club USA
(BetMGM)
Canada
(Sports
Interaction
)
UK
(SkyBet)
Australia
(Ladbrokes)
Arsenal (ENG) +400 3.86 4/1 5.00
Barcelona (SPA) +400 4.02 9/2 5.50
Man United (ENG) +600 6.36 6/1 7.00
Real Betis (SPA) +1000 9.00 14/1 15.00
Juventus (ITA) +1200 11.58 14/1 15.00
AS Roma (ITA) +1400 12.00 20/1 19.00
Ajax (NED) +1600 11.58 12/1 17.00
Real Sociedad (SPA) +1800 13.00 14/1 15.00
SC Freiburg (GER) +1800 13.00 20/1 21.00
Sevilla (SPA) +1800 16.11 16/1 15.00
B. Leverkusen (GER) +2500 19.89 16/1 17.00
Stade Rennes (FRA) +2500 26.00 40/1 41.00
FC Salzburg (AUS) +3300 25.94 33/1 34.00
Sporting CP (POR) +3300 25.94 33/1 21.00
Feyenoord (NED) +3300 26.00 50/1 51.00
PSV Eindhoven (NED) +4000 38.79 40/1 34.00
Fenerbahce (TUR) +4000 38.79 50/1 41.00
Union Berlin (GER) +5000 52.00 33/1 34.00
AS Monaco (FRA) +5000 38.79 50/1 51.00
Union Saint-Gilloise (BEL) +5000 38.79 100/1 34.00
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) +6600 50.90 66/1 51.00
FC Nantes (FRA) +15000 154.00 150/1 101.00
FC Midtjylland (DEN) +15000 152.00 150/1 101.00
Ferencvaros (HUN) +15000 76.60 200/1 81.00

Europa League live streams, TV channels

Below are the TV and streaming destinations for UEFA Europa League matches in select regions around the globe:

  TV Channel Streaming
Australia  — Stan Sport
Canada  — DAZN
Hong Kong  beIN Sports beIN Sports Connect
India  Sony TEN Sony LIV, JioTV
Malaysia  beIN Sports beIN Sports Connect
New Zealand  — Spark Sport
Singapore  beIN Sports beIN Sports Connect
UK  BT Sport BT Sport site/app
USA  CBS Sports Network,
CBS, Univision, TUDN
UniMas
fuboTV, Paramount+,
ViX, ViX+

Australia: Fans can watch every match from the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League with all the action streaming ad-free, live and on demand on Stan Sport.

Canada: Every UEFA Europa League match can be streamed in Canada exclusively on DAZN

UK: The Europa League is carried in the UK on BT Sport's TV and streaming platforms.

USA: Fans in the USA can watch the Europa League in English (CBS and Paramount+) and Spanish (Univision, TUDN, UniMas, ViX and ViX+).

When matches are televised on CBS or Univision TV channels, those same channels are streamed on fuboTV, which is available on a free trial for new users.

Simon Borg

Simon Borg Photo

Simon Borg is a senior editor at The Sporting News who has covered football/soccer for over a decade. A supporter of Italian club Parma Calcio from his years growing up in Europe, he was previously a long-time member of Major League Soccer's digital media team, as a multimedia content producer, on-air personality, and Editor-in-Chief. Based in New York City, Borg is multilingual and has covered the domestic and global scene for TSN since 2021.