Europa League Thursday: Bournemouth and Leverkusen perfect so far, Juventus at AZ, Milan need a win, Celtic on nought
Eighteen games in the fourth of eight rounds, at 18:45 and 21:00 CET. Palace host Hoffenheim, Sunderland host Dinamo Zagreb, Milan host Ferencváros, and Spalletti says Juventus must not choose between league and Europe.
The Europa League plays its fourth round on Thursday 5 November, with nine games at 18:45 CET and nine more at 21:00 CET. Three English clubs, two Italian, one Spanish, one French and one German side we follow are in action, and the table has already split into those who have started perfectly and those who have not started at all.
How the league phase works
Thirty-six clubs sit in one table. Each plays eight different opponents, four at home and four away, according to UEFA’s regulations; the top eight after eight rounds go straight to the last 16, places nine to 24 go into a play-off round in February, and places 25 to 36 are out. The final is in Frankfurt on 26 May 2027. After three rounds, UEFA’s matchday briefing names five sides with three wins from three: Benfica, Bayer Leverkusen, Bournemouth, Ferencváros and Olympiacos. Leverkusen are the only club yet to concede a goal; Benfica have scored the most, ten.
The 18:45 CET games
Crystal Palace host Hoffenheim at Selhurst Park. Palace have four points, by this site’s reading of UEFA’s results page, after a 4-0 win over Lech Poznań, a 3-2 defeat at Lyon and a 2-2 draw at Beşiktaş, and their Spanish winger Yeremy Pino has scored in each of the three games, which makes him the competition’s joint-top scorer, according to UEFA’s briefing. Pierre Sage is the Palace head coach, and the club’s website carried his pre-match press conference. Bournemouth, who go to Sparta Prague, have nine points from wins at Real Sociedad, over Sturm Graz and 3-0 over AC Milan. AC Milan host Ferencváros at San Siro with three points, from a 4-0 win at Salzburg between defeats to Benfica and Bournemouth; the club’s website headlines Rúben Amorim’s press conference “A game we have to win with the right approach”. Real Sociedad, who scored six at Lillestrøm in the last round, host Lyon, who lost 0-3 at Hoffenheim in theirs.
The 21:00 CET games
Sunderland host Dinamo Zagreb at the Stadium of Light at 20:00 UK time, according to Sky Sports’ match page. They have seven points: a 1-0 win over AZ, a 2-1 win at Torreense and a 1-1 draw at Lech, by UEFA’s results. Leverkusen host Marseille at the BayArena: Marseille have lost all three games, and Leverkusen’s Facundo Medina faces his former club, UEFA notes; Bundesliga.com’s preview says Leverkusen have won their first three without conceding and arrive after two league defeats in a row.
AZ Alkmaar host Juventus, who have seven points from a 5-0 win over NEC, a 2-1 win at Celta and a 2-2 draw with Rennes. Luciano Spalletti, the Juventus coach, said on Wednesday, in words carried by the club’s website: “We mustn’t have to choose between the league and the Europa League.” Juventus play Fiorentina on Sunday night. The club’s 22-man squad list for the trip includes Guglielmo Vicario, Pape Matar Sarr and Nick Woltemade, all on loan from Premier League clubs, and the club’s preview says Douglas Luiz needs a rest and that Sarr and Andrea Cambiaso are set to start. Weston McKennie is not in the list; the club gives no reason. UEFA’s briefing notes that AZ’s Peer Koopmeiners faces his brother Teun, who plays for Juventus.
Celtic host Beşiktaş at Celtic Park with no points from three games; Beşiktaş have seven. Martin O’Neill, the Celtic manager, is quoted in UEFA’s briefing: “We’re still in with a chance. We’ve got to win here and got to win away from home.” Our Nigeria edition’s piece on Wilfred Ndidi, Beşiktaş’s midfielder, is linked below. Benfica host Lech Poznań and Celta Vigo host Union Saint-Gilloise in the same slot.
What is not on tonight’s list
Rennes against Olympiacos, listed in some fixture guides for Thursday, was played on Wednesday afternoon, according to UEFA’s fixture page; UEFA’s briefing records it as a 0-0 draw. The feed this site reads for prices still carries a row for it dated Thursday with no prices, which is a leftover and not a game.
What to look for
Whether Leverkusen’s record of no goals conceded survives Marseille. Whether Milan, who have Amorim’s “have to win” instruction and three points, climb into the top 24 by the end of the night. Whether Palace’s Pino scores in a fourth game in a row. And in Glasgow, whether Celtic’s first point of the campaign comes against a Beşiktaş side that has taken seven from nine. The fifth round is on 26 November, after the international break: Crystal Palace host Real Sociedad and Juventus host Omonia that night, according to the calendar this site keeps from UEFA’s fixture list.
- Europa League Matchday 4 briefing: five sides look to maintain perfect starts, UEFA. Read 07:50 WAT, 5 Nov 2026.
- Europa League league phase: fixtures and results by team, UEFA. Read 07:51 WAT, 5 Nov 2026.
- Spalletti and Koopmeiners' comments ahead of AZ Alkmaar v Juventus, Juventus. Read 07:52 WAT, 5 Nov 2026.
- Squad list: AZ Alkmaar v Juventus, Juventus. Read 07:52 WAT, 5 Nov 2026.
- Amorim: 'A game we have to win with the right approach', AC Milan. Read 07:53 WAT, 5 Nov 2026.
- How to watch our pre-Hoffenheim press conference live today, Crystal Palace FC. Read 07:52 WAT, 5 Nov 2026.
- Sunderland v Dinamo Zagreb, Sky Sports. Read 07:51 WAT, 5 Nov 2026.
- Regulations of the UEFA Europa League 2026/27, Article 17: match system, league phase, UEFA. Read 07:52 WAT, 5 Nov 2026.
- Bayer Leverkusen v Marseille: Europa League preview, Bundesliga.com. Read 07:16 WAT, 5 Nov 2026.
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