Five former European champions are among 48 sides jostling for position as the race for the 2014/15 UEFA Europa League continues with six live games to enjoy across ITV4 and BT Sport on Matchday 3.
Europe’s secondary club competition kicked off in September with teams from 26 nations taking part in a group phase which has a physical and multinational sweep that even its greater Champions League cousin cannot match, with no shortage of big-name sides either.
Former European champions Inter Milan, Celtic FC, PSV Eindhoven, Steaua Bucharest and Feyenoord provide some of the prestige and quality on show in this season’s competition, while England’s representatives come in the shape of Tottenham Hotspur and Everton, who will be hoping a strong run in Europe can propel them along to greater heights in the Premier League.
ITV and BT Sport will again be sharing live coverage of the UEFA Europa League this season with up to six live games each matchday during the group phase, plus all the key knockout encounters in the spring.
Both broadcasters, who began sharing coverage of the competition last year, are in their final season of the current contract to cover live matches from Europe’s secondary club competition, before the live rights pass over to BT Sport exclusively from 2015/16.
ITV4 will be the place to watch the majority of the top matches as ITV Sport has all first and second pick games during the group stage and the entire knockout phase.
Most of ITV’s live games will be shown on digital channel ITV4, with matches featuring British teams from the quarter final stages onwards to be screened on ITV in the new year.
ITV will also screen live and exclusive coverage of the 2015 UEFA Europa League final which will be staged at the National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland, on May 27.
For matchday three of this season’s competition, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton’s ties take centre stage once again as part of ITV4’s double bill of live free-to-air Europa League football.
With Matt Smith hosting ITV’s darts coverage this weekend in Germany, Mark Pougatch will instead present ITV4’s live coverage of both English sides’ third group games from 5.30pm, alongside studio guests Gordon Strachan and Jermaine Jenas.
The Toffees take on French side Lille who include Belgian World Cup star and Liverpool’s loanee Divock Origi in their ranks, with the match kicking off at 6.00pm.
Everton currently top Group H having begun their campaign in triumphant fashion with a 4-1 thrashing of German side, Wolfsburg and a hard-earned point against FK Krasnodar in Russia.
Spurs are also unbeaten, but have so far picked up only two points and sit third in Group C as they welcome Greek side Asteras to North London, kicking off at 8.05pm.
A goalless draw against Partizan Belgrade was followed by a one-all draw with Besiktas at White Hart Lane and Mauricio Pochettino’s men will be looking to secure his first win of the campaign to get their European season back on track.
Commentary on Everton’s match in France comes from Sam Matterface and Clarke Carlisle, while Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend are at White Hart Lane.
ITV4’s live match coverage, as well additional video clips, interviews and analysis, is available to watch for free via the ITV football website, while a one-hour highlights rounding up all the action from each matchday will be broadcast on Friday evenings on ITV4.
BT Sport will broadcast at least four live matches during the group phase across BT Sport 1 and BT Sport 2, plus a selection of matches during the knockout stages.
New for this season, James Richardson will be presenting BT Sport’s Europa League coverage with commentary and analysis from the regular European Football Show team of journalists including James Horncastle, Julien Laurens and Raphael Honigstein, alongside BT Sport’s regular pundits.
BT Sport will be screening four live games on matchday 3, featuring Celtic’s home Group D match against Astra Giurgiu of Romania, kicking off at 8.05pm.
Scotland’s only European representatives this season have been handed a favourable group stage draw, having avoided the grudge match with Legia Warsaw, the side who thrashed Celtic initially in the second round qualifying phase before being kicked out for fielding an ineligible player.
The Hoops’s European prospects are now looking much healthier as they lead Group D after two games, following their 1-0 victory over Dinamo Zagreb on matchday two, while Astra of Romania have yet to pick up a point.
Three other live games will be broadcast on BT Sport channels on Thursday night, including Napoli’s away trip to Young Boys of Switzerland at 6.00pm on BT Sport 1, plus two other live games on ESPN, also from 6.00pm, featuring PAOK v Fiorentina and Inter Milan v St Etienne.
BT Sport subscribers can watch the channel’s live matches on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport 2 via its online streaming service at btsport.com or on the BT Sport app for mobile and tablet devices.
Keep up to date with all the latest UEFA Europa League reports, goal flashes and results by following ITV Football on Twitter @itvfootball and BT Sport’s dedicated football feed @btsportfootball.
Further details of when and where to watch all the 2014/15 UEFA Europa League Matchday 2 action can be found below.
.
Thursday 23rd October
Lille v Everton – Group H
Kick-off: 18:00 LIVE: 5.30pm-8.00pm ITV4
Young Boys v Napoli – Group I
Kick-off: 18:00 LIVE: 5.00pm-8.00pm BT Sport 1
PAOK v Fiorentina – Group K
Kick-off: 18:00 LIVE: 6.00pm-8.00pm ESPN
Tottenham Hotspur v Asteras Tripolis – Group C
Kick-off: 20:05 LIVE: 8.00pm-10.30pm ITV4
Celtic v Astra Giurgiu – Group D
Kick-off: 20:05 LIVE: 8.00pm-10.15pm BT Sport 1
Inter Milan v St Etienne – Group F
Kick-off: 20:05 LIVE: 8.00pm-10.00pm ESPN
Friday 24th October
UEFA Europa League: Matchday 3
Highlights: 6.00pm-7.00pm ITV4
.
.
