September

Matchday 1
19:00 AFC Ajax v FC Timişoara, Gp A
19:00 NK Dinamo Zagreb v RSC Anderlecht, Gp A
19:00 LOSC Lille Métropole v Valencia CF, Gp B
19:00 Genoa CFC v SK Slavia Praha, Gp B
19:00 Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC v Celtic FC, Gp C
19:00 SK Rapid Wien v Hamburger SV, Gp C
19:00 Hertha BSC Berlin v FK Ventspils, Gp D
19:00 SC Heerenveen v Sporting Clube de Portugal, Gp D
19:00 PFC CSKA Sofia v Fulham FC, Gp E
19:00 FC Basel 1893 v AS Roma, Gp E
19:00 Panathinaikos FC v Galatasaray AŞ, Gp F
19:00 SK Sturm Graz v FC Dinamo 1948 Bucureşti, Gp F
21:05 S.S. Lazio v FC Salzburg, Gp G
21:05 Villarreal CF v PFC Levski Sofia, Gp G
21:05 FC Steaua Bucureşti v FC Sheriff, Gp H
21:05 Fenerbahçe SK v FC Twente, Gp H
21:05 SL Benfica v FC BATE Borisov, Gp I
21:05 Everton FC v AEK Athens FC, Gp I
21:05 Club Brugge KV v FC Shakhtar Donetsk, Gp J
21:05 FK Partizan v Toulouse FC, Gp J
21:05 AC Sparta Praha v PSV Eindhoven, Gp K
21:05 CFR 1907 Cluj v FC København, Gp K
21:05 Athletic Club Bilbao v FK Austria Wien, Gp L
21:05 CD Nacional v Werder Bremen, Gp L

A 2-1 win against Rapid Vienna in the second leg of their Europa League playoff was not good enough to prevent Aston Villa from making an early exit from the European stage on Thursday evening.

The club held a 2-0 lead until the final 15 minutes of the game, when Rapid Vienna’s Nikica Jelevic struck to bring his side back into the contest. That crucial away goal was good enough to secure Vienna the win, despite the playoff finishing tied on 2-2.

“We should have won,” a downcast Martin O’Neill told FIFA.com after the match. “We did actually win the game. We should have got through. We should have had the game out of sight before they scored and it was unfortunate.”

“They exerted some pressure at 2-0, which you would be expecting, but I thought we had a number of chances to go from 2-0 to 3-0, and that would have sealed the tie.”

While Villa were left ruing missed chances, Everton secured their place in the 2009/2010 Europa League as they drew 1-1 with Sigma Olomouc to finish the playoffs with a 5-1 aggregate win. Fulham also progressed to the inaugural Europa League, despite losing 1-0 to Amkar Perm in the second leg of the playoffs.

It’s crunch time in the 2009/2010 Europa League playoffs, with the clubs competing in the final qualifying stage of the tournament facing one last final hurdle before the group stages of the tournament get underway.

Bookmakers have opened betting markets for all of tonight’s Europa League playoffs, giving football fans the opportunity to cash in on dozens of football betting opportunities.

Of particular interest to British football fans will be the matches featuring Fulham, Everton and Aston Villa. Of the three only Aston Villa trails heading into the second leg of the playoffs, and football fans can look forward to some explosive action as England’s clubs look to secure places in the tournament proper.

If you’re following the Carling Cup instead, and looking for a great betting special, William Hill is promoting the clash between Crystal Palace and Manchester City with a bet one get one free betting special.

Place a £20 single on the Crystal Palace v Man City 90 minutes market and you’ll get yourself a free £5 bet on the live correct score market on this match.

For a comprehensive list of tonight’s Europa League playoff fixtures, and links to the best odds for all available markets, visit our comprehensive odds comparison service.

Aston Villa manager, Martin O’Neill, has promised the club’s fans that his team won’t hold back when they take on Rapid Vienna in a must-win Europa League playoff tie on Thursday evening.

Heavily fancied Villa were shocked by the Austrian Cup champions in Vienna last week, and will now need to win their home fixture if they wish to qualify for the group stages of the 2009/2010 Europa League tournament.

“Obviously we are at a disadvantage,” O’Neill conceded to ESPN. “We will have to go with all guns blazing in the game mindful of the fact that then we might end up having to score three to win. It is a game to be careful about but by the same token not to be too cautious.”

“Vienna will present difficulties to us. But the confidence we got from the win over Liverpool on Monday will stand us in good stead. It could happen that we might well concede an early goal but we have shown in the past that we can come back from a deficit.”

Villa will be boosted by the return of striker John Carew from injury. Carew will be joined by winger Ashley Cole, who was also absent form the first leg of the Europa League playoffs due to injury.

With dozens of top-notch European clubs set to participate in the 2009/2010 UEFA Europa League, football fans will be able to bet on dozens of exciting UEFA Europa League betting markets. The UEFA Europa League is the only European club competition that gives domestic knockout champions from smaller football nations the chance to test their mettle against the European super football clubs. These match-ups can offer excellent odds to adventurous punters willing to back teams with passion and flair.

Football betting offers a wide array of options that allow you to put your football expertise to the test in a variety of ways. UEFA Europa League betting options include straight-up bets on match winners, final scores, half-time scores and aggregate scores.

This season’s UEFA Europa League competition features some true European football heavyweights. Teams like AS Roma, Aston Villa and Villareal have repeatedly proved themselves at the highest levels of European and can be expected to put in strong performances on their way to the last rounds of competition.

UEFA Europa League Tips

Specials give you the edge: As one of the world’s most prestigious club football tournaments, the Europa League attracts a great deal of attention from bookmakers. You’ll find that matches featuring British teams are often promoted with potentially lucrative money-back and free bet betting specials. We’ll be keeping you up to date on the latest specials throughout the Europa league season, ensuring that your chances of earning a return are maximised.

Outright Value: Outright bets on the winner of the Europa League will be available throughout the tournament. Many top bookmakers are offering each-way bets to 2nd place in the tournament, which means half the stake on an each-way bet on a winner will be paid out at ½ the odds of the selection reaches the final of the tournament but loses. With most entries priced over 10/1 at the start of the tournament, this option offers great betting value.

Odds Compared: Europa League Betting offers its users to one of the Internet’s most comprehensive odds comparison services. If you’re looking for best value on a particular team, or just interested in seeing a comprehensive selection of betting markets opened for a Europa League match, an odds comparison service will offer you the best opportunities to turn your expertise and passion for football into profit.

Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 Sivasspor (agg 6-0)
EK Athens 3-0 FC Vaslui (agg 4-2)
Amkar Perm 1-0 Fulham (agg 2-3)
Aston Villa 2-1 Rapid Vienna (agg 2-2) (Rapid Vienna win on away goals rule) | Report
Basle 5-1 FK Baku (agg 8-2)
CFR 1907 Cluj-Napoca 2-1 FK Sarajevo (agg 3-2)
Club Brugge 1-0 Lech Poznan (agg 1-1) (Club Brugge win 4-3 on penalties)
Crvena Zvezda 2-1 Slavia Prague (agg 2-4)
Dinamo Moscow 1-2 CSKA Sofia (agg 1-2)
Elfsborg 1-0 Lazio (agg 1-3)
FC Aktobe 0-2 Werder Bremen (agg 3-8)
FC Levadia Tallinn 1-1 Galatasaray (agg 1-6)
FC Metalist Kharkiv 0-1 SK Sturm Graz (agg 1-2)
Fenerbahce 2-2 FC Sion (agg 4-2)
FK Austria Vienna 3-2 Metallurg Donetsk (agg 5-4) (after extra time)
FK Qarabag 0-0 FC Twente (agg 1-3)
Hamburg 3-1 Guingamp (agg 8-2)
Hapoel Tel-Aviv 1-1 FK Teplice (agg 3-2)
Hearts 2-0 Dinamo Zagreb (agg 2-4) | Report
Heerenveen 0-0 PAOK Salonika (agg 1-1) (Heerenveen win on away goals rule)
Hertha Berlin 3-1 Brondby (agg 4-3)
Liberec 0-3 FC Dinamo Bucuresti (agg 3-3) (Dinamo Bucuresti win 9-8 on penalties)
Lille 4-2 Genk (agg 6-3)
Litex Lovech 0-4 BATE (agg 1-4) (after extra time)
MSK Zilina 0-2 Partizan Belgrade (agg 1-3)
Odense BK 1-1 Genoa (agg 2-4)
PSV 1-0 Bnei Yehuda (agg 2-0)
Roma 7-1 MFK Kosice (agg 10-4)
Sigma Olomouc 1-1 Everton (agg 1-5)
Slovan Bratislava 1-2 Ajax (agg 1-7)
Sparta Prague 1-0 NK Maribor (agg 3-0)
St Patricks 1-2 Steaua Bucuresti (agg 1-5)
Toulouse 0-1 Trabzonspor (agg 3-2)
Tromso 1-1 Athletic Bilbao (agg 3-4)
Valencia 4-1 Stabaek (agg 7-1)
Villarreal 6-1 NAC (agg 9-2)
Vorskla Poltava 2-1 Benfica (agg 2-5)
Zenit St Petersburg 1-1 Nacional (agg 4-5)

Nordbank Arena

2010 Europa League Final
The German city of Hamburg won the rights to host the first-ever UEFA Europa League final. The event will be held at HSH Nordbank Arena, somtimes referred to as the Volkparkstadion. The ground boasts an elite UEFA 5 star ranking and was one of the primary venues during the 2006 Football World Cup.

The Nordbank Arena offers seating for 57,274 spectators. The modern, bowl-shaped design ensures that all spectators are under cover, and the pitch is kept in playable condition during winter by a heating system located under the turf. The Europa League venue is easily accessed once in the city of Hamburg, as it it serviced not only by the Hamburg S-Bahn, but also by a dedicated bus service on match days.

The Nordbank Arena is a relatively new construction, and was built in 1998 to replace the aging Volksparkstadion, a relic of the post-war era. The new stadium was rotated to make maximum benefit of natural light, and the construction of the stadium was also sensitive to acoustics, as the venue was intended to double as a concert venue.

Aviva Stadium

2011 Europa League Final
Dublin’s brand new Aviva Stadium will host the 2011 Europa League final. The stadium was constructed to replace the crumbling, but historic, Lansdowne Road as a home for the Irish national football and rugby union teams. Cutting edge design and construction assured that the Aviva Stadium received a UEFA 5 star ranking and thereby qualified as a host for European football finals.

The Aviva Stadium is a 50,000 all-seater venue located in the heart of Dublin. The futuristic stadium provides covered seating for all spectators on four separate tiers, with seating following bowl-shaped contours. The venue is located adjacent to Lansdowne Railway Station, making it easily accessible to football fans traveling to the Europa League final.

Construction of the Aviva Stadium began in 2007, following the demolition of the Lansdowne Road - a venue that had been in use since the 1800s. The costs of construction of the Aviva Stadium came to €365 million, and were paid by the Irish government and the ruling associations for Irish football and rugby union.

For more information on travelling to these UEFA Europa League venues, visit the UEFA Europa League Travel page available on this site.

Aston Villa manager, Martin O’Neill, has taken his club’s fans to task ahead of Thursday’s crucial Europa League playoff against Rapid Vienna.

Villa will take a one goal deficit into the encounter, and will be required to win away from home if they wish to play European football this winter.

The club made a less-than-ideal start to the season with two losses in its first two matches, but came back strongly to defeat Liverpool in the Premier League on Monday.

O’Neill is now concerned that Aston Villa’s fans may be acting against the best interests of the club by failing to support the team after his players were booed off the park following their loss to Wigan last weekend.

“I’m staggered by what’s going on,” O’Neill told the BBC. “To get the abuse we got against Wigan was not warranted. You pay your money and you can go for it if you want but that can be disheartening for young players.”

UEFA Europa League Qualifying

First Qualifying Round: June
The new look Europa League qualifying format sees just four teams, those rated from 50th-53rd in the UEFA Rankings square off in the first qualifying round of the tournament.

Second Qualifying Round: June
The second qualifying round of the Europa League sees the two winners of the first qualifying round joined by 32 cup champions from some of UEFA’s lower ranked leagues.

Third Qualifying Round: July
The third qualifying round of the Europa League sees the 17 survivors from the second qualifying round joined by the three cup champions from the UEFA associations ranked 14th to 16th.

Third Qualifying Round for Non-Champions: July
The third qualifying round for non-champions offers the runners’-up from some of Europe’s tougher domestic cup competitions the opportunity to take a place in the Europa League playoffs.

Europa League Playoffs: August
In August the teams from the qualifying rounds take part in the two-legged Europa League playoffs. The 10 winners from the third qualifying round are joined by 5 clubs that finished in the top four of some of Europe’s most competitive domestic leagues, along with the 5 winners from the third qualifying round for non-champions.

UEFA Europa League Format

Group Stage: September - December
The 10 winners of the Europa League playoffs are joined by 13 cup champions from the highest rated UEFA associations, along with 6 runners-up from these association and 3 teams that finished 3rd in the highest rated European domestic leagues. These 32 clubs are divided into 8 groups. The top two points scorers in each group progress to the first knockout round of the Europa League.

First Knockout Round: December
The first knockout round of the Europa League sees the top 16 clubs form the group stage compete in 8 two-legged ties. The 8 winners progress to the quarterfinals.

Quarterfinals/Semi-Finals/Finals: March - May
The remaining 8 teams are reduced to two finalists over the course of the next two games. The final is a single game played at a neutral venue, with a penalty shootout used to determine a winner in the event of a draw.

Qualifying Round

2 & 9 July 2009

Second qualifying round

16 & 23 July 2009

Third qualifying round

30 July & 6 August 2009

Playoffs

20 & 27 August 2009

Group Stage

17 September 2009

Matchday 2

1 October 2009

Matchday 3

22 October 2009

Matchday 4

5 November 2009

Matchday 5

2 - 3 December 2009

Matchday 6

16 - 17 December 2009

Final Phase

18 - 25 February 2010

Round of 16

11 - 18 March 2010

Quarter-finals

1- 8 April 2010

Semi-finals

22 - 29 April 2010

Final

12 May 2010