When are the Werkself playing?
Peter Bosz’ team start the finals tournament on Monday, 10 August. Bayer 04 meet the Serie A runners-up Inter Milan in the quarter-finals at 21.00 CET. If the Werkself go through to the next round they will be in the semi-final on Monday, 17 August at 21.00 CET. The first semi-final is the day before on , 16 August (21.00 CET). The final is on Friday, 21 August at 21.00 CET.
Which teams have qualified?
In addition to the quarter-final opponents Bayer 04 and Inter Milan, Manchester United and FC Copenhagen play each other. Shakhtar Donetsk meet FC Basel and Wolverhampton Wanderers are up against Sevilla.
Where are the venues for the games in the finals tournament?
The finals tournament is being held in the North Rhine-Westphalia cities of Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Cologne and Gelsenkirchen. The Werkself play Inter Milan at the Düsseldorf Arena, the official UEFA description of the Düsseldorf Merkur Spiel Arena. If Bayer 04 progress to the next round then the team will again play the semi-final in Düsseldorf (either against Shakhtar Donetsk or FC Basel). The final is at the Rhein Energie Stadium in Cologne.
What is the structure of the finals tournament?
To complete the Europa League in as short a time as possible after the break due to the coronavirus pandemic, the quarter- and semi-finals are one-off matches instead of the usual two-leg ties. The winners of the Europa League will have to win three games to lift the trophy and take the prize money home and they will also qualify for the 2020/21 Champions League campaign.
How can you watch the games in Germany?
The matches are being played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic. The streaming provider DAZN is broadcasting all the Europa League games live. The television broadcaster RTL is showing one game live in both the quarter- and semi-finals as well as the final on terrestrial TV free of charge.
Do the teams have to be in quarantine?
All the teams have to be in a dedicated hotel in the region one day before the start of the finals tournament. The Werkself will check in to a hotel in Düsseldorf on Sunday and will also train in the state capital.
Which players can participate in the tournament?
The following applied before the second leg in the Round of 16: As a result of an exceptional ruling, the clubs were allowed to call up an additional three players signed before 2 February. Bayer 04 made use of the ruling and brought in winter signing Florian Wirtz. With the exception of Paulinho, who is recovering from the operation on his torn cruciate, all the players in the Werkself first team squad are available plus the U19 players Ayman Azhil, Emrehan Gedikli and Cem Türkmen.
What other rule changes are there?
The matchday squads in the forthcoming Europa League matches will have 23 instead of the usual 18 players. That was only previously allowed in the final. In addition, the coaches, as in the Bundesliga, can make five substitutions per game – and six in matches that go into extra time. However, they can only be made at three points in the game and in the breaks at half-time or extra time or before the start of extra time to reduce the number of interruptions. Yellow cards have already been annulled after the Round of 16 – normally that would be the case after the quarter-finals. Current suspensions will not be annulled – bad luck for Charles Aránguiz who misses the quarter-final tie.
The following changes have been introduced for the coming season: If a penalty taker hits the woodwork or misses the target, it is irrelevant if the keeper is on his line or not when the penalty is taken – unless the offence clearly affects the kicker. Yellow cards do not apply at penalty shoot-outs.
