Like its older sister, the Champions, in the Europa League the final phase will also be defined today to be held in Germany from 10 to 21 August. It will be a final to eight played in four cities in the Teutonic country. Duisburg, Gelsenkirchen, Düsseldorf and Cologne will host this 'express' conclusion of the tournament, with the final reserved for the latter city.
Starting at 1:00 pm this Friday (Movistar Champions League / Eurosport1), the path that the teams must follow to try to lift the trophy of the second European competition will be established. There will be three draws in one, given that the quarter crossings will be known first, then the ‘semis’ and finally the team that will play ‘local’ in the final on August 21 in Cologne. The draw will be pure, there will be no seeded and teams from the same country can face.
A single party
The draw for quarters will feature the participation of the eight winners of the knockout stages, which will be played between August 5 and 6, when the national championships have concluded, and in which it is expected that the two Spanish teams can be still alive in this competition, Seville and Getafe.
For this, both will have to get rid of Rome and Inter, respectively, in the only two qualifying rounds that will have to be decided in a single match and in Germany, since the first leg, scheduled for March, could not be held due to the threat of the coronavirus. This is the most equitable formula that UEFA has developed, given that the other round of 16 matches -Man.United-Lask (5-0), Basel-Eintracht (3-0), Copenhagen-Istanbul Basaksehir (0-1), Shakhtar-Wolfsburg (2-1), Bayer Leverkusen-Rangers (3-1) and Wolverhampton-Olympiakos (1-1) – they will be able to experience their outcome on a regular basis with the celebration of the corresponding return match in their respective stadiums.
No respite
The 'lucky ones' who pass the round will raffle the pass to seminars on August 10 and 11. The two matches that will decide the finalists will take place on August 16 and 17, while the outcome of this atypical Europa League is scheduled for just four days later, on August 21.