News🟠 Europa League56d ago · September 16, 2026

Europa League: points needed for Marseille, Lyon, Rennes

RMC Sport, using Football Meets Data, estimates how many points French clubs need to qualify directly or via the playoff stage.

By TuFutbolero NewsroomSeptember 16, 2026 at 11:39 AM

The Europa League gets back underway this Wednesday with three French clubs in the starting lineup: Marseille, Lyon and Rennes. After being knocked out at the gates of the Champions League, they all share the same priority question: how many points are required to reach the knockout phase without too much stress.

The league-phase rules

As RMC Sport explains, each team plays eight matches against eight different opponents, with three points for a win, one for a draw and none for a defeat. Once those games are done:

The top eight qualify directly for the round of 16.
Places 9 to 24 go into a two-legged playoff.
Anything beyond that means the Europa League 2026-27 ends there.

The key points targets

Football Meets Data’s numbers point to 15 points as the mark that should be enough to land a top-eight spot and avoid the playoff. RMC Sport also cites last season’s precedent: Roma needed one extra point (16) to secure direct qualification.

For finishing between 9th and 24th, the model suggests 9 to 10 points, depending on the scenarios in the league. In only 7% of the simulations, 10 points would not be sufficient if goal difference is -4 or worse.

Where French clubs land

With those parameters included, RMC Sport’s projections are optimistic for the three sides: they all reach the knockout phase. But only one is expected to skip the extra tie—Rennes is projected inside the top eight (7th), while Marseille (10th) and Lyon (13th) would be forced into the playoff.

Source: RMC Sport.