The draw for the 2020/21 Europa League group stage draw has been made at UEFA HQ in Nyon, Switzerland.
The 48 competing clubs have been divided into the usual 12 groups of four, with seedings determined by their UEFA ranking and country protection in use as per the norm for this stage of the competition. A place in the 2021/22 Champions League is on offer for the overall winners.
Arsenal are the highest ranked team in the competition this season and among the early favourites to lift the trophy. They have been placed in a favourable group with Rapid Vienna, Molde and Dundalk.
Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho has experience of winning this competition with Porto and Manchester United in 2003 and 2017 respectively. This time, his Spurs team faces Ludogorets, LASK and Antwerp.
On their first return to European competition since reaching the Champions League quarter finals in 2016/17, Leicester will face 2011 finalists Braga, AEK Athens and Zorya Luhansk.
AC Milan and Celtic is a high profile draw in a group alongside Sparta Prague and Lille. Steven Gerrard’s Rangers, meanwhile, have been matched with Benfica, Standard Liege and Lech Poznan.
2020/21 UEFA Europa League Group Stage Draw:
Group A: Roma, Young Boys, Cluj, CSKA Sofia
Group B: Arsenal, Rapid Vienna, Molde, Dundalk
Group C: Bayer Leverkusen, Slavia Prague, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, Nice
Group D: Benfica, Standard Liege, Rangers, Lech Poznan
Group E: PSV Eindhoven, PAOK, Granada, Omonia
Group F: Napoli, Real Sociedad, AZ Alkmaar, HNK Rijeka
Group G: Braga, Leicester, AEK Athens, Zorya Luhansk
Group H: Celtic, Sparta Prague, AC Milan, Lille
Group I: Villarreal, Qarabag, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Sivasspor
Group J: Tottenham, Ludogorets, LASK, Antwerp
Group K: CSKA Moscow, Dinamo Zagreb, Feyenoord, Wolfsberger
Group L: Gent, Red Star Belgrade, Hoffenheim, Slovan Liberec
When Will Games Be Played?
The group stage will begin on Thursday 22 October and conclude on Thursday 10 December, with the schedule as follows:
Matchday 1 – Thursday 22 October
Matchday 2 – Thursday 29 October
Matchday 3 – Thursday 5 November
Matchday 4 – Thursday 26 November
Matchday 5 – Thursday 3 December
Matchday 6 – Thursday 10 December
The 2021 final will be held on Wednesday 26 May at the Stadion Energa Gdansk in Gdansk on Poland’s Baltic north coast, which was supposed to host the 2020 final until arrangements were changed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
For more from Jamie Spencer, follow him on Twitter and Facebook!
Source : 90min