Juventus have learned their opponents in the league phase of the 2026/27 Europa League. The Bianconeri will play eight matches: four in Turin and four away from home.
Real Sociedad, Rennes, Omonia and NEC Nijmegen will come to Turin, while Juventus will travel to face AZ Alkmaar, Ferencváros, Celta Vigo and Hapoel Be'er Sheva.
Who are Juventus' opponents, where do they come from, who coaches them, how did they reach the Europa League and who are their biggest stars?
REAL SOCIEDAD - OYARZABAL AND KUBO LEAD THE MOST DANGEROUS RIVAL
⭐ Biggest stars: Mikel Oyarzabal (€25m), Takefusa Kubo (€20m), Orri Óskarsson (€20m), Ander Barrenetxea (€18m)
📍 City: San Sebastián, Spain
👔 Coach: Pellegrino Matarazzo
🏟️ Juventus – Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad are probably one of the biggest names among Juventus' opponents. Captain and Spain international Mikel Oyarzabal is currently also the squad's most valuable player at an estimated €25 million, while Japan's Takefusa Kubo is one of their greatest threats.
The club from San Sebastián finished only 10th in La Liga last season, but won the Copa del Rey, securing a direct place in the Europa League league phase.
Real Sociedad have not made major financial investments this summer, but on the very day of the draw they brought in talented centre-back Mamadou Sarr on loan from Chelsea
AZ ALKMAAR – KEES SMIT IS THE €25 MILLION GEM
⭐ Biggest stars: Kees Smit (€25m), Wouter Goes (€15m), Peer Koopmeiners (€12m), Mexx Meerdink (€8m)
📍 City: Alkmaar, Netherlands
👔 Coach: Lee-Roy Echteld
🏟️ AZ Alkmaar – Juventus
Their biggest name may not be the most familiar to the wider public, but 20-year-old Kees Smit is already valued at around €25 million and is AZ's brightest gem. There is also Peer Koopmeiners, brother of Juventus' Teun Koopmeiners. Transfermarkt values the entire AZ squad at around €135 million.
AZ finished sixth in the Eredivisie last season, but won the KNVB Cup, which earned them a direct place in the Europa League.
The Dutch side have once again had an interesting transfer window. Stije Resink cost €4.5 million, Andrea Natali €2.3 million and Sam de Grand €1.5 million. Calvin Stengs also arrived as a free agent.
At the same time, the club earned far more from sales than it spent, with a current transfer balance of around +€23 million. The coach is Lee-Roy Echteld, who took charge of the first team in January and has a contract until 2028.
RENNES – LIGUE 1'S TOP SCORER LEADS THE ATTACK
⭐ Biggest stars: Estéban Lepaul (€35m), Charlie Cresswell (€25m), Eliezer Mayenda (€16m), Breel Embolo (€15m)
📍 City: Rennes, France
👔 Coach: Franck Haise
🏟️ Juventus – Rennes
The first star is Estéban Lepaul, valued at as much as €35 million, who finished last season as Ligue 1's top scorer. The attack also features the well-known Switzerland international Breel Embolo, while 21-year-old Eliezer Mayenda is a player of great potential.
Rennes finished sixth in Ligue 1 last season, and after Lens won the Coupe de France, that position earned them a place in the Europa League.
The French side have invested seriously. They paid Sunderland as much as €22 million for Mayenda, Bryan Reynolds cost around €4.6 million, while Arnaud Nordin was signed for around €2.2 million.
They are led from the bench by Franck Haise, who took over in February 2026 and guided Rennes into Europe with an excellent end to the season, winning eight of their last 12 matches.
FERENCVÁROS – NABY KEÏTA BRINGS CHAMPIONS LEAGUE EXPERIENCE
⭐ Biggest stars: Gabi Kanichowsky (€4m), Bamidele Yusuf (€2.5m), Toon Raemaekers (€2.5m), Aleksandar Cirkovic (€2m), Naby Keïta
📍 City: Budapest, Hungary
🏟️ Ferencváros – Juventus
The best-known name is undoubtedly Naby Keïta, formerly of Liverpool and RB Leipzig. Although he no longer commands his former market value, his experience makes him a big name at this level of competition.
The squad's most valuable player at the moment is Israeli attacking midfielder Gabi Kanichowsky, valued at €4 million. The team also includes Serbian winger Aleksandar Cirkovic. The entire squad is valued at around €38.5 million.
Ferencváros did not qualify directly and had to come through the Europa League qualifiers. In the play-off round they completely dismantled Trabzonspor, winning 5-0 on aggregate, including a 4-0 victory in the second leg.
OMONIA – BERG LEADS THE CYPRIOT GIANTS
⭐ Biggest stars: Jayden Montnor and several Cyprus internationals
📍 City: Nicosia, Cyprus
👔 Coach: Henning Berg
🏟️ Juventus – Omonia
Omonia are one of the financially weakest of Juventus' opponents. The entire squad is valued at only around €17 million.
Their biggest summer investment was Jayden Montnor, signed from Aris for around €1.5 million. The club did, however, also make a significant sale, sending Ryan Mmaee to Atlas for around €3 million.
The coach is the well-known Norwegian Henning Berg, a former Manchester United and Blackburn player, who favours a 4-2-3-1 system.
Omonia earned their place in the league phase through the Europa League qualifiers, rather than directly through the league.
CELTA VIGO – ASPAS IS A LEGEND, BUT A NEW GENERATION IS TAKING OVER
⭐ Biggest stars: Williot Swedberg (€20m), Javi Rodríguez (€18m), Ferran Jutglà (€10m), Hugo Álvarez (€8m), Iago Aspas
📍 City: Vigo, Spain
👔 Coach: Claudio Giráldez
🏟️ Celta Vigo – Juventus
The best-known name remains Iago Aspas, a club legend who, even at 39, is still the symbol of Celta. However, the highest market values now belong to the younger players: Williot Swedberg at around €20 million and Javi Rodríguez at around €18 million.
There are also Ferran Jutglà, Borja Iglesias and the talented Hugo Álvarez.
Celta finished sixth in La Liga last season, securing a direct place in the Europa League. UEFA list them as one of the two Spanish clubs with direct entry into the league phase.
The team have not spent huge sums this summer, but have strengthened in interesting ways. Couhaib Driouech cost around €7 million, Altay Bayindir arrived on loan from Manchester United, while Javi Galán and Aleix Febas joined on free transfers.
NEC NIJMEGEN – TADIC IS COMING TO TURIN!
⭐ Biggest stars: Sami Ouaissa (€8m), Noé Lebreton (€4m), Darko Nejasmic (€4m), Dusan Tadic
📍 City: Nijmegen, Netherlands
👔 Coach: Dick Schreuder
🏟️ Juventus – NEC
Dusan Tadic joined NEC this summer as a free agent, bringing enormous European experience with him. The squad's most valuable player, however, is young Sami Ouaissa, valued at €8 million.
NEC achieved a historic result last season by finishing third in the Eredivisie, which earned them a place in the Champions League qualifiers. There they produced a major surprise by knocking out Olympiacos after extra time, before continuing their European journey. UEFA officially list them as a club that arrived in the Europa League from the Champions League qualifiers.
NEC have done enormous business this summer. Kodai Sano was sold to PSV for €14.5 million, Basar Önal to Lille for €12.5 million, while Koki Ogawa left for €1.9 million.
At the same time, Tadic, Emre Mor, Ahmetcan Kaplan, Almugera Kabar and others have arrived.
The coach is Dick Schreuder, who has been in charge of NEC since the summer of 2025.
HAPOEL BE'ER SHEVA – SERBIAN STRIKER ZLATANOVIC UP FRONT, KNOCKED RED STAR OUT OF THE CL
⭐ Biggest stars: Lucas Ventura (€2m), Dan Bitton (€2m), Eliel Peretz (€1.7m), Amir Ganah (€1.6m), Igor Zlatanovic
📍 City: Be'er Sheva, Israel
👔 Coach: Ran Kozuk
🏟️ Hapoel Be'er Sheva – Juventus
Hapoel are financially a long way from Juventus, but they already have a very interesting European summer behind them.
Among the most valuable players are Lucas Ventura and Dan Bitton, valued at around €2 million each. Of particular interest to Serbian fans is striker Igor Zlatanovic, a former Serbia youth international.
This summer the club signed João Victor for around €1.7 million and Niv Yehoshua for around €1.5 million, while the sale of Kings Kangwa to Panathinaikos brought in around €3.8 million.
Hapoel began their European campaign in the Champions League qualifiers. The two-legged tie against Red Star Belgrade will be remembered in particular: the Israeli club won 1-0 in the first leg and 2-0 in the return leg in Belgrade to eliminate the Red and Whites.
They later failed to reach the Champions League league phase, so their European journey continued in the Europa League. UEFA officially class them among the clubs that reached this competition via the CL qualifiers. The coach is Ran Kozuk, who favours an aggressive 4-3-3 and a high press.
SOURCES: UEFA/Transfermarkt
