Europa League draw: Everything you need to know

Today, we’ll discover which three teams we’ll face in the UEFA Europa League group stage, when the draw is made in Istanbul.

It’ll be the moment our supporters can start planning their continental trips to see us in action, and the dreams begin of the journey ending in Budapest for the final in May.

Here is everything you need to know about this year’s competition, and who we could face over the next few months:

When is the draw taking place?

The draw is scheduled to start at 12pm BST on Friday. It will be streamed on UEFA.com.

When are the fixtures taking place?

Usually the six group stage matches are spread over 12 weeks, however due to the FIFA World Cup taking place in November, this has been condensed into eight.

These are the six matchdays:

Matchday 1: September 8
Matchday 2: September 15
Matchday 3: October 6
Matchday 4: October 13
Matchday 5: October 27
Matchday 6: November 3

How do the groups work?

The 32 clubs are seeded into four pots of eight in accordance with the club coefficient ranking.

Teams will be drawn into eight groups of four, each containing one team from each seeding pot.

Clubs from the same association cannot be drawn against each other.

To ensure that paired clubs from the same country (including those playing in the UEFA Europa Conference League) have different kick-off times where possible, the eight groups will be distinguished by colour: Groups A to D red and Groups E to H blue. When a paired club is drawn, for example, in one of the red groups, the other paired club – once drawn – will be automatically assigned to one of the blue groups. Pairings will be confirmed before the draw.

Who has already qualified?

16 teams qualified automatically for the group stage:

Roma (ITA)
Manchester United (ENG)
Arsenal (ENG)
Lazio (ITA)
Braga (POR)
Feyenoord (NED)
Rennes (FRA)
Real Sociedad (ESP)
Real Betis (ESP)
Union Berlin (GER)
Freiburg (GER)
Nantes (FRA)
Monaco (FRA)
Sturm Graz (AUT)
Union Saint-Gilloise (BEL)
Midtjylland (DEN)

Qarabag (AZE), Red Star Belgrade (SER), Dynamo Kyiv (UKR), Bodo/Glimt (NOR), Trabzonspor (TUR) and PSV Eindhoven (NED) dropped into the competition after being eliminated from the Champions League qualifiers.

AEK Larnaca, Omonia (both CYP), Fenerbache (TUR), Zurich (SUI), HJK Helsinki (FIN), Malmo (SWE), Ferencvaros (HUN), Olympiacos (GRE), Sheriff Tiraspol (MOL) and Ludogorets (BUL) all made it through the qualifiers to reach the group stage.

Who could we face?

Due to our UEFA club coefficient ranking (based on our European performances during the last five seasons), we have been seeded in Pot 1, and will face a team from each of the other three pots:

Pot 1

Arsenal
Roma
Man United
Lazio
Braga
Red Star Belgrade
Dynamo Kyiv
Olympiacos

Pot 2

Monaco
Feyenoord
PSV Eindhoven
Rennes
Qarabag
Malmo
Ludogorets
Real Sociedad

Pot 3

Real Betis
Sheriff Tiraspol
Midtjylland
Bodo Glimt
Ferencvaros
Union Berlin
SC Freiburg
Fenerbahce

Pot 4

Nantes
HJK Helsinki
Sturm Graz
AEK Larnaca
Omonia Nicosia
Zurich
Union Saint-Gilloise
Trabzonspor

How does the group work?

All the group winners will progress straight into the round of 16, which is due to take place on 9 and 16 March.

The second-placed teams go into a play-off round on 16 and 23 February, where they will face off against the eight teams that finished third in the UEFA Champions League groups to earn the right to reach the round of 16.

The third-placed teams drop into the UEFA Europa Conference League, where they will face the group runners-up from that competition in the play-off round, also on the 16 and 23 February.

Anyone finishing fourth will be eliminated from European competition.