What to look out for on Thursday in the UEFA Europa League

Tottenham Hotspur, Ajax, Athletic Club, Roma and Beşiktaş all enter the fray as Matchday 1 of the new-look UEFA Europa League concludes on Thursday.

All kick-off times 21:00 CET unless stated

Thursday 26 September
Fenerbahçe vs Union SG (18:45)
Malmö vs Rangers (18:45)
Ajax vs Beşiktaş
Roma vs Athletic Club
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Viktoria Plzeň
FCSB vs RFS
Lyon vs Olympiacos
Braga vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Tottenham Hotspur vs Qarabağ

Stand-out fixtures

Tottenham Hotspur vs Qarabağ

Heung-Min Son has two good reasons to remember the last time Spurs hosted the Azeri champions, having struck twice in a 3-1 win against Qarabağ in the 2015/16 Europa League. Back in Europe after a year's absence, the north Londoners may feel they have a point to prove.

In his second season in charge, Ange Postecoglou said recently: "I always win things in my second year." Could that mean Spurs are in for a first Europa League title to go with the UEFA Cups they won in 1971/72 and 1983/84?

Key stat
Richard Almeida's penalty in that 3-1 Qarabağ loss at Spurs remains the only goal scored by an Azeri side (men's, women's, club and national team, including youth competitions) in 12 competitive away games against English sides (L12).

Roma vs Athletic Club

Plenty of eyes will be on Artem Dovbyk as Roma's big summer signing faces Athletic Club – one of the few La Liga sides he did not score against in an exceptional 2023/24 season at Girona. "I know there is a lot of pressure on me, but football without pressure is not football," said the Ukrainian, who scored regularly in Europe for Dnipro-1 prior to his move to Spain. "I feel the responsibility, but it's an honour to play here in Italy."

Dovbyk will have his work cut out against an Athletic side featuring two players who sparkled in Spain's EURO 2024 success: forward Nico Williams and goalkeeper Unai Simón.

Key stat
Athletic have won only once in nine trips to Italy (D3 L5), triumphing 2-1 at Sampdoria in a September 1997 UEFA Cup game.

Ajax vs Beşiktaş

After a fifth-placed finish in the Netherlands last season, new coach Francesco Farioli's first task this summer was to lead Ajax through three rounds of Europa League qualifiers. The Amsterdammers kick off with a home meeting with Beşiktaş, having won all six of their previous encounters against the Istanbul side.

The Black Eagles' new boss – Dutchman Giovanni van Bronckhorst – will look to change that, with summer signing Ciro Immobile and loanee João Mário already making an impact up front.

Key stat
Ajax beat Panathinaikos 13-12 on penalties in this season's Europa League third qualifying round, the longest shoot-out in UEFA competition history at 34 spot kicks.

Plus

• Olympiacos visit Lyon for their first European game since they became the first Greek side to win a UEFA club competition, beating Fiorentina in the Conference League final.
• Latvia's RFS (who are away at FCSB) boast the top scorer in Europa League qualifying this season: Jānis Ikaunieks scored six goals in four Europa League games, plus two more in four Champions League qualifiers.