Sunderland's Glamour San Siro Trip Against AC Milan

Sunderland land San Siro trip as British clubs handed glamour Europa and Conference League ties

The draw balls had barely stopped spinning before it sank in. Sunderland. In Europe. At the San Siro. Against AC Milan.

Fifty-three years after their last continental adventure, the club that has spent much of the past decade wrestling with its own identity will walk out in one of world football’s great cathedrals. For a fanbase raised on cold Tuesday nights and promotion battles, this is something else entirely.

Across the country, Bournemouth are pinching themselves too. Their first-ever European campaign now comes with a visit from the seven-time European champions. AC Milan at the Vitality Stadium. A tight, compact ground about to host a heavyweight of Serie A.

The Europa League’s new league phase has delivered storylines before a ball is kicked.

British clubs handed marquee Europa League nights

The revamped format will see Europa League sides play eight matches between September 2026 and January 2027, four at home and four away, before the knockout bracket takes shape.

For Celtic, the draw offers both glamour and jeopardy. They will host Marseille in Glasgow, a tie dripping with history and noise, and travel to Marco Silva’s Benfica in Lisbon. Those two fixtures alone would define most campaigns, yet they are only a quarter of Celtic’s schedule.

Their full slate reads like a tour of European football’s middle and upper class:

• Marseille (H)
• Benfica (A)
• Ferencvaros (H)
• Union SG (A)
• Celta Vigo (H)
• Omonia (A)
• Besiktas (H)
• Torreense (A)

Home nights against Marseille, Celta Vigo and Besiktas promise a raucous Celtic Park. Trips to Lisbon and Brussels will test both squad depth and nerve.

Sunderland’s return to Europe, though, carries a different kind of charge. This is not a club accustomed to these air miles. Their path includes some of the competition’s most awkward opponents – and one giant.

They face:

• AZ Alkmaar (H)
• AC Milan (A)
• GNK Dinamo (H)
• Anderlecht (A)
• Jagiellonia (H)
• Lech Poznan (A)
• Levski Sofia (H)
• Torreense (A)

San Siro is the headline, but this is no sightseeing tour. AZ, Dinamo and Anderlecht have built reputations on European know-how. Sunderland will need to learn quickly or be punished.

Bournemouth’s debut on the continental stage is no gentle introduction either. Their eight fixtures are a blend of prestige and potential pitfalls:

• AC Milan (H)
• Real Sociedad (A)
• Viktoria Plzen (H)
• Sparta Prague (A)
• Sturm Graz (H)
• Celta (A)
• Hapoel Be’er Sheva (H)
• Lillestrom (A)

A home opener against Milan could set the tone for the whole campaign. Trips to San Sebastián, Prague and Vigo are as demanding as they are alluring. For a club that has climbed from the lower leagues to the Premier League, this is the next step in a remarkable rise.

Crystal Palace, fresh from winning last season’s Europa Conference League, now step up a level with the confidence of champions. Their reward: a draw that looks as entertaining as it is unforgiving.

Palace will meet:

• Real Sociedad (H)
• Lyon (A)
• Sparta Prague (H)
• Salzburg (A)
• Lech Poznan (H)
• Jagiellonia (A)
• Hoffenheim (H)
• Besiktas (A)

Selhurst Park under the lights against Real Sociedad, Sparta Prague and Hoffenheim should crackle. Away days in Lyon, Salzburg and Istanbul will tell Palace exactly how far they’ve come.

The road to Frankfurt

The calendar is relentless. Matchday 1 lands on September 16/17, with Matchday 2 on October 15 and Matchday 3 a week later on October 22. From there, the schedule tightens:

• Matchday 4: November 5
• Matchday 5: November 26
• Matchday 6: December 10
• Matchday 7: January 21, 2027
• Matchday 8: January 28, 2027

Survive that gauntlet, and the real pressure begins. Knockout phase play-offs arrive on February 18 and 25, 2027, followed by the Round of 16 on March 11 and 18. Quarter-finals are set for April 8 and 15, with semi-finals on April 29 and May 6.

Everything funnels towards May 26, 2027, and Stadion Frankfurt in Germany. That’s the night every club in this draw quietly circled as the dream destination.

Brighton and Hearts eye Conference League breakthroughs

If the Europa League offers glamour, the Europa Conference League offers opportunity. Brighton, in Europe for only the second time in their history, have earned their place the hard way, beating Tromso in qualifying to reach the league phase.

Under Fabian Hurzeler, they now step into a group of fixtures that will stretch their style and their stamina. Their biggest test looks clear: Monaco at home. A sharp, technically gifted Ligue 1 side arriving on the south coast will be a true measure of Brighton’s European ambitions.

Their schedule:

• Monaco (H)
• Panathinaikos (A)
• Universitatea Craiova (H)
• Getafe (A)
• Kauno Zalgiris (H)
• Jablonec (A)

Panathinaikos in Athens and Getafe in Spain are the sort of away days that can derail a campaign if approached casually. Brighton, now used to punching above their weight in the Premier League, will need that same edge here.

For Hearts, there is a different twist. Owned by Brighton chief Tony Bloom, the Scottish Premiership side will also host Monaco, a shared narrative that links the two clubs on and off the pitch.

Hearts’ full run looks like this:

• Monaco (H)
• Pafos (A)
• Borac (H)
• Trabzonspor (A)
• Nordsjaelland (H)
• Thun (A)

The standout away trip is to Trabzonspor, where Mohamed Salah and on-loan Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana add star power to a notoriously hostile venue. That tie could define Hearts’ ceiling in this competition.

Conference League dates set the rhythm

The Conference League calendar is slightly leaner, with six league-phase matches:

• Matchday 1: October 15
• Matchday 2: October 22
• Matchday 3: November 5
• Matchday 4: November 26
• Matchday 5: December 10
• Matchday 6: December 17

From there, the knockout rounds will carve away the hopeful and expose the serious contenders.

The draw has done its job. It has thrown Sunderland into the San Siro glare, handed Bournemouth a night with Milan on the south coast, tested Celtic and Palace against hardened European operators, and given Brighton and Hearts a shot at making real noise on Thursdays.

Now the question hangs over all of them: are these just glamorous fixtures on a calendar, or the start of something that will reshape how these clubs see themselves in Europe?