Union Saint-Gilloise (USG) are set to face AS Rome and Fenerbahçe in the Europa League’s group stage 2024-2025, following a draw held on Friday at Monaco’s Grimaldi Forum.
The Belgian team will host four matches at the Roi Baudouin stadium, welcoming teams such as AS Roma (Italy), Braga (Portugal), Bodo/Glimt (Norway) and Nice (France).
On the away schedule, USG will meet Rangers (Scotland), Fenerbahçe (Turkey), Midtjylland (Denmark) and Twente (Netherlands), where Alec Van Hoorenbeeck plays.
In the Champions League third qualifying round, Union Saint-Gilloise lost to Slavia Prague and moved directly to the Europa League. The previous season, they reached the Conference League’s last-16, losing to Fenerbahçe.
During the 2022-2023 campaign, Union made it to the Europa League quarter-finals, where they were defeated by Bayer Leverkusen.
New format
After a substantial restructure of European competitions, the Europa League has adopted a fixture system similar to the Champions League’s. The group stage consists of 36 teams, each playing eight matches.
Teams are grouped into four pots for the draw, facing two teams from each pot, including their own. Four matches will be played at home, with the other four away. The fixtures schedule is yet to be determined.
Union's players look dejected after losing against Czech SK Slavia Praha, on Tuesday 13 August 2024. Credit: Belga / Laurie Dieffembacq
All teams will be ranked in a single table. After eight match days, the top eight will directly qualify for the last-16. Teams ranked 9th to 24th will compete in play-offs for last-16 spots, while those teams ranking 25th to 36th will be eliminated.
Once the last-16 phase is reached, the competition resumes its conventional format of round trips, culminating in the final slated for 21st May 2025 in Bilbao.
Anderlecht's draw
Alongside Union Saint-Gilloise, Anderlecht will also participate in the Europa League – also meaning that USG will not play their games at Lotto Park like they have done in previous seasons. The Mauves will play FC Porto (Portugal), Ferencvaros (Hungary), Ludogorets (Bulgaria), and Hoffenheim (Germany) at the Lotto Park.
For their away fixtures, Anderlecht will visit Slavia Prague in the Czech Republic, Real Sociedad in Spain, Czech outfit Viktoria Plzen, and RFS from Latvia.
With two more teams competing in the Champions League and the Conference League respectively, there are five Belgian representatives across all European competitions.
