3rd qualifying round of the Europa League. Contenders for victory

The 2017-2018 Europa League will be the 47th edition of the second most important club competition in the Old World. For a long time, the tournament was considered not so important, and clubs from the Top 4 European championships openly neglected the games of this competition. Now the situation has changed for the better, because the winner of the Europa League receives not only a prestigious cup, but also the opportunity to compete in the group stage of the Champions League next season. As a result, the struggle has intensified, and the players spare no effort on the field, realizing that victory in the final match will bring them fame, solid bonuses and new opportunities.

190 clubs from 55 football associations of the Old World will take part in the 2017-2018 Europa League, including qualifying. Only 36 teams will reach the group stage of the tournament, some of which are already known. Among them:

• Villarreal (Spain);
• Real Sociedad (Spain);
• "Cologne" (Germany);
• "Hertha" (Germany);
• Arsenal (England);
• Atalanta (Italy);
• Lazio (Italy);
• Guimarães (Portugal);
• "Lyon" (France);
• Lokomotiv (Russia);
• "Zarya" (Ukraine);
• Zulte-Warengem (Belgium);
• "Vitesse" (Holland);
• Konyaspor (Türkiye);
• Lugano (Switzerland);
• "Fastav" (Czech Republic).

In the group stage of the Europa League, all qualified teams will be divided into 12 subgroups of 4 football teams. As part of their quartet, each club will have to play 2 matches with opponents - on their own field and at the opponent’s stadium. The scoring system remains standard: 3 points are awarded for a victory, 1 point is awarded for a draw, and the losing team is left without scoring points.

The clubs that take the first two places in the subgroup receive the right to play in the knockout series in the 1/16 finals. 8 teams from the Champions League, which are in third place in the subgroup, will also take part in this stage. Pairs are formed by drawing lots. To determine the winner at each stage of the playoffs, 2 matches are played (home and away). If after the second match it is still not possible to identify a winner, two additional halves of 15 minutes are assigned, after which a penalty shootout takes place. The final match will take place on May 16, 2018 at the Olympic Stadium, which is home arena for the French club Lyon.

Third qualifying round

In the final third qualifying round, 25 teams from the strongest football associations of the Old World will play, plus 33 football teams that made it through the first and second qualifying stages.

The schedule of matches for the 3rd qualifying round of the Europa League 2017-2018 is as follows:

The official start time of the games will be determined no later than a week before they take place.

Contenders for victory

Identifying candidates for victory in the 2017-2018 Europa League at stage 3 of the qualifying round is a thankless task. Nevertheless, let's try to do this. To begin with, we will put forward the most obvious assumption that the triumphant of the tournament will be the team competing in the Top 5 championships of the Old World (Italy, England, Spain, Germany, France). Over the past six editions, the hegemony of English and Spanish teams in the League of Nations has not been interrupted by clubs from minor European championships. Based on this, we will highlight the most likely contenders for the title:

• "Arsenal";
• "Milan";
• "Lyon".

To win the UEFA Europa League 2017-2018 will be a matter of honor. A team with championship ambitions has not been able to achieve significant results in European competition for more than 10 years. The last success dates back to 2005/06, when the Gunners lost to Barcelona in the Champions League final. Fans blame the players and the club's head coach, Arsene Wenger, for everything. If the French specialist wants to remain as a helmsman for the next season, then he simply needs to win at least one prestigious trophy. It will be almost impossible to do this, so the Europa League remains, on which the main forces can be concentrated.

In Milan, Chinese investors have started a serious restructuring. This summer, 10 new players have already been purchased for a total amount of over 120 million euros, and this is far from the limit. After such an impressive investment, the red-black bosses will want to see at least one trophy. It will be impossible to interrupt Juventus' hegemony, and Paolo Maldini's charges can only concentrate on the Cup and the Europa League. Milan will begin performing on the international stage on July 27.

Lyon has been missing stars from the sky lately. A mediocre performance in the French Championship and the loss of key leaders are the main reasons for the frustration of local fans. Top scorer team, Alexandre Lacazette was sold to London's Arsenal for 60 million euros, and creative midfielder Corentin Tollisso moved to Bayern for 41.5 million euros. The “Weavers” management has the opportunity to spend this huge money wisely, creating a renewed team that is capable of fighting with dignity both in the domestic championship and at the international level.

Don't forget about the clubs that will qualify for the LE from the group stage. Surely among them there will be several giants who, annoyed by the failure in the main club competition of the continent, will want to rehabilitate themselves in the eyes of the fans by winning the second most important tournament in the Old World. All this makes the 2017-2018 Europa League even more interesting, spectacular and unpredictable.

See the best goals of the Europa League of the 2016-2017 season in the following video: