Europa League Matchday 2 briefing: Juventus, Benfica, Lyon and Crystal Palace aim to win again

Following an action-packed Matchday 1, the league phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League continues on Thursday 15 October with another set of fascinating fixtures.

Our preview picks out the key matches, top stats and personalities as the new campaign continues.

What to look out for

• Crystal Palace coach Pierre Sage returns to France to face his former club Lyon, whom he managed between November 2023 and January 2025. The two teams started with victories on Matchday 1 and will each be keen to keep the momentum going.
• With both sides having enjoyed UEFA Champions League football in recent years, Union SG and Real Sociedad will fancy their chances of progressing deep into this tournament. They got off to differing starts, though, the Belgian outfit convincingly beating Viktoria Plzeň 3-0 away while La Real were defeated 2-1 at home by Bournemouth.
• Juventus sent out a big statement on Matchday 1 in the form of an impressive 5-0 victory over N.E.C., with five different scorers. Celta lost away at Omonia, but they are a tougher prospect at home – they lost just two of their seven games at Estadio Balaídos as they reached the quarter-finals last season (W4 D1).
• European heavyweights Benfica and Celtic face off for the ninth time, but the first in this competition. Their previous eight meetings have all come in the Champions League/European Cup, Celtic winning four, Benfica three and one draw.

Player to watch: Tobias Guddal (Sparta Praha)

It's not often that a towering centre-back leads the top scorer race in any competition, but that is the case so far in this season's Europa League after Tobias Guddal popped up with two goals in three minutes to help Sparta Praha beat Ararat-Armenia 4-1 on Matchday 1, his second a delightful curling effort from just inside the box. "We said before the season that one of our goals was for the defenders to help us in this way," said coach Brian Priske, and Guddal may be looking to add to his tally when his side welcome Lillestrøm.

Club in focus: Torreense

Second-tier Portuguese outfit Torreense caused a stir by stunning Sporting CP to win the Portuguese Cup last season, and they continued to upset the odds on Matchday 1, beating Lillestrøm away in their maiden European match. They now host English Premier League side Sunderland looking to continue their quest to become the first team to progress from a UEFA competition league phase while playing outside their country's top division.