What to look out for on UEFA Europa Conference League Matchday 3
Thursday, October 26, 2023
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Aston Villa face AZ Alkmaar in a mouth-watering Group E fixture, Fenerbahçe seek perfection while Ballkani target their next landmark.
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The UEFA Europa Conference League group stage reaches the halfway stage on Matchday 3, with the first instalments of back-to-back fixtures that could go a long way to deciding who advances and who doesn't.
In this piece presented by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, we pick out some key talking points ahead of the third round of group stage games. Remember: Every mission matters.
Thursday 26 October
Group A: LOSC Lille vs Slovan Bratislava (18:45), KÍ Klaksvík vs Olimpija Ljubljana (18:45)
Group B*: Gent vs Breidablik (18:45)
Group C: Ballkani vs Astana (18:45), Dinamo Zagreb vs Viktoria Plzeň (21:00)
Group D: Lugano vs Club Brugge (18:45), Bodø/Glimt vs Beşiktaş (21:00)
Group E: AZ Alkmaar vs Aston Villa (18:45), Zrinjski vs Legia Warszawa (21:00)
Group F: Genk vs Ferencváros (21:00), Fiorentina vs Čukarički (21:00)
Group G: Frankfurt vs HJK Helsinki (21:00), Aberdeen vs PAOK (21:00)
Group H: Fenerbahçe vs Ludogorets (18:45), Spartak Trnava vs FC Nordsjælland (21:00)
*Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Zorya Luhansk has been postponed to Saturday 25 November 2023.
How qualifying for the knockouts works
The eight group winners automatically go through to the last 16. Additional knockout round play-offs will then be played before the round of 16, pitching the eight group runners-up against the third-ranked teams from the UEFA Europa League groups.
Time for the A game
Group E was supposed to be a straight shoot-out between Aston Villa and AZ Alkmaar – in a competition that has become a platform for emerging talent to come to the fore, we should have known better. Two games in and all four sides are locked on four points. AZ's back-to-back fixtures against Villa have taken on new meaning.
"We know we have to be better," said Villa skipper John McGinn after his dramatic late winner against Zrinjski on Matchday 2. His coach, Unai Emery, celebrated with the explosion of joy that comes with such triumphs but, you suspect, he wouldn't object to something a bit more routine in the Netherlands. Wouldn't bank on it, though.
Awesome foursome
Two games in and only four sides have a 100% group stage record. Hands up if, before the season started, you would have gone for Slovan Bratislava, Viktoria Plzeň, PAOK and Fenerbahçe? Didn't think so. Slovan, Plzeň and PAOK all have tricky away assignments on Matchday 3, but Turkish league leaders Fenerbahçe are at home, and will be confident of making it three from three against a Ludogorets side smarting from a record defeat by Nordsjælland last time out.
"Our goal today was to win so I'm happy," coach İsmail Kartal said after his side edged out Spartak Trnava on Matchday 2. That winning mentality is serving Fenerbahçe well.
Ballkani raising bar
Last season Ballkani became the first Kosovan side to contest a UEFA group stage when they lined up in the Conference League. They soon secured Kosovo's first point, at home to CFR Cluj, and followed that up with their nation's first win, coming out on top against Sivasspor in a seven-goal thriller in Türkiye.
On Matchday 2 this time around they stunned 24-time Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb in Pristina to claim a first home win in a European group. What next for the reigning Kosovan title holders? Can they dream of advancing to the knockouts? Next up for them in Group C is a home meeting with point-less Astana.
When are the remaining Europa Conference League group stage games?
Matchday 4: 9 November 2023
Matchday 5: 30 November 2023
Matchday 6: 14 December 2023
Further ahead
• The sides that go head-to-head on Matchday 3 all reunite on Matchday 4 for the reverse fixtures on 9 November. One swallow does not tend to make summer with these things – victory in the first meeting is not always a strong guide of what will happen in the second.
• Aston Villa will have revenge in mind on Matchday 5 as they welcome Legia Warszawa to Birmingham, with memories of their surprise 3-2 defeat in Poland on Matchday 1 still fresh.
• Elsewhere that night, Nordsjælland welcome Fenerbahçe to Farum in eastern Denmark knowing that they will be a very different proposition at home compared to the side beaten 3-1 in Türkiye – just ask Ludogorets.
Where is the 2024 Conference League final being played?
The 2023/24 UEFA Europa Conference League season is set to conclude at the Agia Sofia Stadium in Athens, Greece, on Wednesday 29 May 2024.
Opened in September 2022, the new stadium stands on the site of the Nikos Goumas Stadium, which had been home to AEK Athens since 1930 but sustained serious damage during an earthquake in 1999. With a capacity of over 30,000, the new stadium in the north-western suburb of Nea Filadelfia stages Greece international home games as well as AEK matches.