The journey begins with two away games for the Italian teams taking part in Europe’s second-tier club competition: over this “two-day event,” Roma visit Nice while Bologna travel to face Aston Villa.
After last week’s “three-day event” that marked the start of the 2025/26 Champions League, it’s now time for the Europa League to get underway, with Roma under Gasperini and Bologna under Italiano representing Italy. Both teams are hoping for a better debut than Italian sides had in last week’s Champions League action.
Both managers bring solid European experience to the table: Gasperini won the Europa League two years ago with Atalanta, while Italiano reached the Conference League Final twice with Fiorentina, though he lost on both occasions.
According to the bookmakers, Roma are among the favorites to win the tournament, second only to Unai Emery’s Aston Villa. Emery is a true specialist in the competition, having won it four times in his career — three with Sevilla and once with Villarreal.
Roma’s odds to lift the trophy range between 7.5 and 9 to 1, while Aston Villa’s sit between 6 and 7. The leading outsiders, according to bookmakers, include Betis, Porto, Nottingham Forest, and Bologna, all with fairly similar odds.
The new 2025/26 Europa League season represents not only a prestigious sporting showcase for Roma and Bologna but also a major financial opportunity. UEFA has put up a prize pool of €565 million — a significant figure, though still well below the €2.4 billion allocated to the Champions League.
For the two Italian clubs, simply qualifying for the single-group stage guarantees a fixed payout of €4.31 million. However, their actual earnings will depend on how far they advance, thanks to a prize structure that increases round by round. In other words, every goal and every victory can translate into valuable resources for the club’s finances.
UEFA awards bonuses for results in the group stage: €450,000 for each win and €150,000 for each draw. In addition, there are extra prizes based on the final standings in the single group stage, worth up to €600,000 for teams finishing in the top eight spots.
The financial stakes grow even higher in the knockout rounds: €1.75 million for the Round of 16, €2.5 million for the quarterfinals, €4.2 million for the semifinals, and €7 million for reaching the final.
The club that lifts the trophy will earn an additional €6 million, bringing the total prize money from UEFA alone to nearly €37 million — not counting matchday revenue from ticket sales.
Roma’s Europa League campaign kicks off today, Wednesday, September 24, in Nice, where Gian Piero Gasperini hopes to rediscover the attacking edge his teams are known for, something Roma have yet to fully show:
“More than an attacking problem — because aside from the Torino match we’ve always scored — it seems to me that our issue comes after we take the lead. Instead of keeping the pressure on, we sit back and just defend the 1-0. There’s too much caution.”
Tomorrow, Thursday, September 25, it will be Bologna’s turn as they face the toughest challenge of all: away to the tournament favorites, Aston Villa. It will be a true test of Bologna’s European pedigree. Last season, they struggled in the early rounds of the Champions League before finishing strong — but by then, unfortunately, it was too late.
L’articolo The Europa League kicks off today: Roma among the favorites, Bologna among the outsiders proviene da Soccer Made In Italy.
