BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Six direct places in the Europa League round of 16 are up for grabs and 11 teams remain in contention for the five last spots in the knockout stage in the final round of the opening phase on Thursday.
Only leader Lyon and second-placed Aston Villa have already qualified for the last 16. They are tied on points atop the standings with six wins and a loss.
Like in the Champions League, all 36 teams play in the last 18 games that kick off simultaneously, and the top eight finishers advance automatically after eight rounds.
The teams placed from nine to 24 enter a two-leg playoff.
Lyon hosts PAOK while Villa meets Salzburg at home.
Third-placed Freiburg, which trails the leaders by a point, travels to 21st-placed Lille and a point would be enough for the Bundesliga team to advance.
Roma in sixth is away at Panathinaikos in 19th. Sixteenth-placed Nottingham Forest plays seventh-placed Ferencváros at City Ground.
Celtic sits in the 24th and last qualifying place and needs a win against Utrecht, which is 34th and already eliminated. Scottish rival Rangers in 31st is also out of knockout contention.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers, centre left, Pau Torres, second left, and Ollie Watkins, centre, practice during a training session in Tamworth, England, Wednesday Jan. 28, 2026, one day ahead of their Europa League soccer match against Salzburg. (David Davies/PA via AP)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Not even a point penalty for hindrance could slow Aryna Sabalenka's run to a fourth consecutive Australian Open final.
The top-ranked Sabalenka overpowered Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-3 Thursday night to move within one victory of a third Australian Open title in four years.
The Belarusian will play the winner of the second semifinal between sixth-seeded Jessica Pegula and fifth-seeded Elena Rybakina, who won Wimbledon in 2022 and was runner-up in Australia to Sabalenka in 2023.
All four players reached the semifinals without dropping a set — only the fifth time in the Open era — and Sabalenka and Svitolina were each on 10-match winning streaks to start the season after titles in warmup events.
Sabalenka kept both of her streaks alive. She hit 19 winners and broke Svitolina's serve twice in the first set.
The 12th-seeded Svitolina, from Ukraine, broke to open the second set but Sabalenka rallied immediately and won the next five games to take the semifinal away. She finished with 29 winners in all against 19 for Svitolina.
She's the third player in the Open era to reach four consecutive women's finals at the Australian Open after Evonne Goolagong and Martina Hingis.
“It’s an incredible achievement but the job’s not done yet,” Sabalenka said. “I've been watching her game, (Svitolina) was playing incredible. I felt like I had to step in and put as much pressure as I could back on her. I’m glad the level was there. I think I played great tennis.”
The only hiccup was the hindrance to start the fourth game. Hindrance was called for a distraction that prevents a player from making a shot, and can include an opponent's loud noise. Umpire Louise Azemar Engzell deemed Sabalenka made a prolonged grunt after she shanked a forehand. The hit seemed to be going long but landed inside the baseline, giving Svitolina the chance to play on.
Sabalenka asked for a video review but the point penalty was upheld.
It didn't bother her for long. Sabalenka broke serve in that game and controlled most of the remainder of the match.
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Elina Svitolina of Ukraine plays a forehand return to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus during their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts during her semifinal match against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine during their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Aryna Sabalenka, right, of Belarus walks past Elina Svitolina of Ukraine during their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Elina Svitolina of Ukraine gestures during her semifinal match against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus during their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts during her semifinal match against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine during their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
