Milan for history, familiar opponents for points: why the Europa League draw is favorable for Ararat-Armenia

Ararat-Armenia have learned the identity of all eight opponents they will face in the league phase of the 2026/27 Europa League. AZ Alkmaar, Sparta Prague, Celje and NEC Nijmegen will travel to Yerevan, while the Armenian champions will face Milan, Salzburg, Jagiellonia and Torreense away from home.

At first glance, the list looks intimidating. It includes Milan, seven-time winners of the European Cup/Champions League, as well as AZ, Sparta and Salzburg, all regular participants in European competition. But if the draw is assessed not by the stature of the names involved but by Ararat-Armenia’s chances of picking up points, the Yerevan side have been handed a fairly favorable set of opponents.

The distribution of home and away fixtures looks particularly important.

At home: AZ, Sparta, Celje and NEC

From Pot 1, Ararat-Armenia were handed two very different challenges: AZ at home and Milan away. From a sporting perspective, this is arguably one of the more acceptable scenarios.

AZ visited Armenia very recently. In February 2026, Noah beat the Dutch club 1-0 in Yerevan in the first leg of the Conference League knockout play-off round. The difference in quality was much more evident in Alkmaar, where AZ won 4-0 and advanced. But the game in Yerevan had already demonstrated the key point: at home, an Armenian club is capable of causing serious problems for a team of that level.

Sparta Prague will also be a very familiar opponent. The teams met in the third qualifying round of the Conference League last season. The Czech side won both matches — 2-1 in Armenia and 4-1 in Prague. That tie ended in a convincing victory for Sparta, but Ararat-Armenia now approach the new meeting in a different status — as a team that has reached the Europa League league phase for the first time in its history.

The story with Celje is even more recent. The Slovenian champions already visited Armenia this summer in Champions League qualifying. Ararat-Armenia won the home leg 2-1, but then conceded twice late in the return match, lost 2-0 and were eliminated from the competition. Now the Yerevan side will get an almost immediate opportunity for revenge — once again on home soil.

NEC Nijmegen cannot be considered a weak opponent either, but for Pot 4 this is certainly not the worst possible draw. Hoffenheim and Besiktas, for example, were also in that pot. And the match against NEC will also be played at home.

As a result, Ararat-Armenia can realistically hope to pick up points in almost every home fixture. Naturally, the Armenian champions will not be favorites against AZ or Sparta, but these are not opponents of such a level that an upset in Yerevan looks impossible.

Milan — the toughest and most historic away trip

The headline fixture of the league phase will be the trip to Italy.

Ararat-Armenia will face Milan away from home — one of the most decorated clubs in European football. It will also be a historic occasion for Armenian club football: for the first time, a team from Armenia will face a representative of Italy’s Serie A in European competition.

Since Armenia gained independence, Armenian clubs have only rarely faced teams from Europe’s leading domestic leagues. In 2005, Mika lost 4-0 on aggregate to Germany’s Mainz — 4-0 away and 0-0 at home. In 2019, Pyunik lost twice to England’s Wolverhampton, both times by a 4-0 scoreline. And in the 2024/25 season, Noah suffered the heaviest defeat in their European history, losing 8-0 to Chelsea in London.

Milan will now be added to that list.

From a results perspective, this is obviously the toughest fixture on the entire schedule. But matches like this are also the reward for reaching the main stage of a European competition: the opportunity to share the pitch with one of Europe’s giants without having to eliminate them over a two-legged tie.

Torreense — not an ordinary mid-table side, but a very interesting opportunity

The most unusual opponent Ararat-Armenia were drawn against is Torreense.

The Portuguese club are still playing in the second division, but last season they produced one of the biggest surprises in European football. Torreense won the Portuguese Cup, defeating Sporting 2-1 after extra time in the final, and as a result qualified directly for the Europa League.

However, it would be wrong to describe Torreense as an ordinary mid-table second-tier side. They finished third in the league with 59 points — the same total as Academico, who finished second. Torreense then took part in the promotion play-offs for a place in the top division but lost to Casa Pia.

Yes, Torreense enjoyed a relatively favorable path through the Portuguese Cup, but even before reaching the final they eliminated top-flight Casa Pia, before overcoming Sporting in the decisive match. The Portuguese Cup holders therefore certainly cannot be underestimated.

For Ararat-Armenia, this fixture has another interesting storyline. Yerevan head coach Manuel Tulipa previously managed Torreense, while Juan Balanta and Benny Dias have also played for the Portuguese club. Tulipa worked in Torres Vedras during the 2023/24 season.

Even so, the away trip to Torreense looks like Ararat-Armenia’s best opportunity to collect points outside Armenia.

The draw offers genuine opportunities

Naturally, there were never going to be easy opponents for Ararat-Armenia in the Europa League. The Yerevan club were placed in Pot 4 and in almost every match will be at a disadvantage in terms of budget, squad value and European experience.

But among the possible scenarios, the draw turned out to be relatively favorable.

From Pot 3, Ararat-Armenia avoided all three English clubs — Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Sunderland — and instead drew familiar opponents Celje and Jagiellonia. From Pot 4, they avoided Hoffenheim and Besiktas. Most importantly, the majority of opponents against whom Ararat-Armenia can realistically fight for a victory will travel to Armenia.

The matches against Celje and NEC should be viewed as the main opportunities to collect points at home. The chances will be lower against Sparta and AZ, but previous experience involving Armenian clubs shows that an upset is possible there too. Away from home, Torreense appears to offer the best chance. Jagiellonia and Salzburg will be considerably tougher tests, while the match against Milan stands somewhat apart from the rest.

That is why the objective of collecting several points and competing for a place in the top 24 of the overall standings does not look unrealistic.

There is perhaps only one significant downside to the draw — from the supporters’ point of view.

A genuine European giant will not be coming to Yerevan. Pot 1 included not only AZ and Milan, but also Juventus, Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica, Marseille, Lyon and Real Sociedad. In the end, Ararat-Armenia were drawn against their highest-profile opponent away from home.

From the perspective of their chances of earning points, that is arguably a positive. From the perspective of having a major football occasion in Yerevan, it is certainly a little disappointing.

But for a club making its debut in the Europa League league phase, the most important thing is something else: the draw has given Ararat-Armenia room not simply to play eight historic matches, but to compete for meaningful results.

2026/27 Europa League draw: results, pots and Ararat-Armenia’s opponents