The UEFA Europa League returned on Wednesday night, with three British sides still in the competition and aiming for a coveted piece of European silverware.
For the first time ever, the Europa League season will end with a mini tournament in Germany, where the competition will be played to a conclusion due to safety concerns and time constraints caused by the global pandemic.
We returned midway through the round of 16 stage, with six of the eight ties having already played a first leg before the competition was paused five months ago. The second legs of those ties are going ahead as planned, albeit behind closed doors, while the other two ties will be the first of the one-legged knock-out matches everyone will play come the quarter-finals.
Those who had already played a first leg include Manchester United, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Rangers – although with varying success.
United, who ten days ago secured their place in next season’s UEFA Champions League, are already through to the quarter-finals having finished the job against LASK on Wednesday night. They will face FC Copenhagen in the last eight.
Premier League rivals Wolves are also in the driving seat as they bring Olympiacos back to Molineux, but will still likely need a home win after a 1-1 draw in Greece.
Rangers, meanwhile, will follow up an opening win of the Scottish Premier League season with a trip to Bayer Leverkusen. Their work is cut out having lost 3-1 in the opening leg.
You might also want to keep an eye on the second of those two single-legged fixtures in Germany, where Sevilla face Roma – Wolves will face the winner of that one if they overcome Olympiacos.
The Europa League round of 16 returns on Wednesday 5th August and Thursday 6th August, with the final being held on Friday 21st August. Read on to find out how you can watch all 15 remaining matches, wherever you are in the world.
We’ll look at the TV and live stream options for UK and USA-based Europa League fans below, but even after spending all that money on a TV sports subscription you’re still not going to be able to watch the football from another country.
There are certain territories where the Europa League football is free to watch (you can find a full list of the free Europa League broadcasters here, along with the pay channels too). So, if you’re away in one of these places, you may just need to tune in on your hotel TV or find a local bar.
Anywhere else and you’ll want to get yourself a VPN instead. A VPN (Virtual Private Network) can spoof an IP address which is local to the server you’d like to access. That way your service provider will think you’re in the correct country to do so and allow you to watch the Europa League on your subscription as if you were back home.
VPNs are also as useful for banking as they are at trying to watch video content or accessing websites people in your location are not supposed to do. They encrypt the data passing between you and the server, so that the information remains private.
So, whether you want to watch live football, enjoy another country’s Netflix library or just keep your browsing data private, then a VPN is well worth considering.
There are many VPN providers out there, with some more reliable and safe than others. As a rule, we’d suggest a paid-for service and would recommend the following:
– ExpressVPN
You can get three months free when you sign up to a year-long plan, bringing VPN access to smart devices including the Amazon Fire TV Stick, laptops, TVs and both Android and iOS mobiles and tablets. Express also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
– NordVPN
Which comes in at as little as $2.99 (£2.29) per month and features 24/7 assistance
Once you’ve made your choice, all you need to do is sign in to your VPN service through whichever device you’d like to use to watch the match. When prompted to select a server, you need to pick one which is based in the country whose content you’d like to access. Then navigate to the relevant video streaming app or website and you’re in.
You can find a full list of the world’s broadcasters with rights to show live the Europa League football here.
Rights to show the UEFA Europa League in the UK belong to BT Sport, whose long-term deal to broadcast all matches from UEFA club competitions means you’ll also be able to enjoy the Champions League.
However you subscribe to BT Sport, you will get access to streams via the BT website and BT Sport app. That means you can watch games on the move within the UK or from abroad, using a VPN.
BT Sport comes in 4K HDR, beamed at 50fps on BT Sport Ultimate, channel 433. If you’re hooked up specifically on the BT TV platform then it’s also available in with Dolby Atmos sound.
BT Sport Ultimate is not available on the Sky TV platform but anyone with an Xbox, PlayStation, Apple TV or a Samsung TV can watch in 4K HDR using the BT Sport app with the BT Sport Monthly Pass for just £25. No contract required.
For 4K sports on BT TV, it’s a case of upgrading or purchasing the Max 4K package, which will cost you £20 a month to add to an existing BT subscription, or £54.99 for the full shebang if you’re a new customer starting from scratch.
Those on Virgin Media will need the Virgin V6 box and a 4K TV to make sure they’re getting the action at maximum resolution. With the basic Big Bundle, BT Sport is £18 per month but all five BT Sport channels, including Ultra HD, are included on the larger TV packages which start at £57 per month. More details on Virgin Media TV bundles.
UEFA Europa League fans in the States are lucky enough to be able to watch some of the European football action free on Spanish language network Univision. The rest, you’ll have to pay for and the rights are shared out between Univision Deportes Network and Turner Sports.
Take a look at the schedules on their website to work how to follow your favourite team, and don’t forget to use a VPN if you’re watching from abroad.
All times in BST.
Thursday 6th August
Sevilla vs Roma, 5.55pm – BT Sport 3
Bayer Leverkusen vs Rangers, 5.55pm – BT Sport 2
FC Basel vs Frankfurt, 8.00pm – BT Sport ESPN
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Olympiacos, 8.00pm – BT Sport 1 / BT Sport Extra 1 / BT Sport Ultimate
Monday 10th August
Manchester United vs FC Copenhagen, 8.00pm – BT Sport 1 / BT Sport Extra 1 / BT Sport Ultimate
Inter Milan vs Rangers / Bayer Leverkusen, 8.00pm – BT Sport 2
Tuesday 11th August
Olympiacos / Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Sevilla / Roma, 8.00pm – BT Sport 1 / BT Sport Extra 1 / BT Sport Ultimate
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Eintracht Frankfurt / FC Basel, 8.00pm – BT Sport 2
Sunday 16th August
Semi-final 1, 8.00pm – BT Sport 2
Monday 17th August
Semi-final 2, 8.00pm – BT Sport 2
Friday 21st August
Final, 8.00pm – BT Sport 2 / BT Sport Ultimate / BT Sport YouTube
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