Sunderland Draw AC Milan Away as Five English Clubs Land Europa League Fixtures
Sunderland will travel to the San Siro to face AC Milan in the Europa League league phase, while Bournemouth welcome the seven-time European champions to the south coast, after Friday's draw in Monaco plotted the 2026/27 campaign's fixtures.
The draw, held at 13:00 CET on 28 August and broadcast on TNT (ESPN), split 36 qualified teams across four pots. UEFA confirmed the seeding structure the day before (UEFA).
For Sunderland, the reward for beating Chelsea on the final day of last season — a 1-0 win on 24 May that secured European football and knocked Chelsea out of the conversation entirely (Reuters) — is a fixture list that mixes glamour with grit. As well as that trip to Milan, the Black Cats face AZ Alkmaar and GNK Dinamo at home, Anderlecht both home and away, Jagiellonia at home, Lech Poznan away, Levski Sofia at home, and Torreense, a Portuguese side, away (BBC Sport).
Bournemouth, who qualified with a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest on the same May afternoon (Reuters), have a schedule that sends them to Real Sociedad's Reale Arena in San Sebastián and Sparta Praha's atmospheric Letná Stadium. At home, alongside Milan, they host Viktoria Plzen, Sturm Graz, and Hapoel Be'er Sheva, with an away trip to Norway's Lillestrom rounding out their eight matches (BBC Sport).
Crystal Palace, in the competition as an English domestic winner (UEFA), drew Real Sociedad at home and Lyon away, plus Salzburg, Lech Poznan, Jagiellonia, Hoffenheim, and Besiktas — a run that takes them from Austria to Türkiye via France and Poland (BBC Sport).
Celtic's draw is the heaviest on paper. Marseille at home, Benfica away. Ferencvaros in Budapest and Union SG in Brussels. Celta Vigo, Omonia of Cyprus, Besiktas, and Torreense complete a schedule that asks serious questions of squad depth (BBC Sport).
What makes this draw resonate is the sheer range of it. Five English clubs, each with a different story of how they got here — Sunderland back in Europe after years away, Bournemouth on their first continental adventure, Crystal Palace riding a domestic trophy, Celtic carrying Scotland's hopes against some of the continent's most storied names.
The league phase format, now in its third season, means every team plays eight opponents, four at home and four away, rather than the old group system. One table ranks all 36 sides together. Finish high enough and you advance; finish low and you're out before Christmas.
For the travelling supporter, the fixture computer has been generous with horizons. Sunderland to Milan. Celtic to Lisbon. Bournemouth to San Sebastián. Palace to Salzburg and beyond. The nights are getting longer, and so are the journeys.
