This is great! Alexis Mac Allister’s brother, Kevin, finding out that his Belgian side, Union SG, have been drawn against Liverpool.
— Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (@UnionStGilloise) September 1, 2023
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Brighton face Ajax and Marseille in Europa League
Europa League debutants Brighton were drawn to take on former Champions League winners Ajax and Marseille in Friday’s group stage draw. Roberto De Zerbi’s men secured a first season in continental football with a sixth-place finish in last season’s Premier League table, and their reward is matches against four-time European champions Ajax and the 1993 European Cup winners Marseille.
The Seagulls’ other group opponents are reigning Greek champions AEK Athens, with the first round of group stage games to be played on Thursday, 21 September.
Liverpool were placed alongside LASK of Austria, Belgian club Union St Gilloise and Toulouse from France. The third Premier League representatives in Friday’s draw were West Ham by virtue of their victory in last season’s Europa Conference League final.
The Hammers go up against 47-time Greek champions Olympiacos, German club Freiburg and European debutants TSC Backa Topola from Serbia. Rangers, who dropped into the Europa League after suffering a Champions League play-off defeat to PSV Eindhoven earlier this week, will take on Real Betis from Spain Sparta Prague of the Czech Republic and Cypriot champions Aris Limassol.
Aston Villa have been drawn to face AZ Alkmaar, Legia Warsaw and Zrinjski in Group E of the Europa Conference League.
Aberdeen, the only other British club in the group stage of European football’s third-tier competition, have been drawn in Group G alongside Eintracht Frankfurt, PAOK Athens and Helsinki.
Villa’s Group E opponents Zrinjski are the first team from Bosnia and Herzegovina to reach the group stages of a Uefa club competition. PA Media
European draws summary
Let’s sign off by looking at the two draws together and who the English and Scottish sides will be taking on.
Europa League
Group A: West Ham, Olympiacos, Freiburg, TSC Backa Topola
Group B: Ajax, Marseille, Brighton, AEK Athens
Group C: Rangers, Real Betis, Sparta Praha, Aris Limassol
Group E: Liverpool, LASK, Union SG, Toulouse
Conference League
Group E: AZ, Aston Villa, Legia Warszawa, Zrinjski
Group G: Frankfurt, PAOK, HJK, Aberdeen
Full Europa Conference League draw
Here we are. The full draw…
Group A: Lille, Slovan Bratislava, Olimpija Ljubljana, Kl Klaksvik.
Group B: Gent, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Zorya Luhansk, Breidablik.
Group C: Dinamo Zagreb, Viktoria Plzeň, Astana, Ballkani.
Group D: Club Brugge, Bodø/Glimt, Besiktas, Lugano.
Group E: AZ, Aston Villa, Legia Warszawa, Zrinjski.
Group F: Ferencváros, Fiorentina, Genk, Cukaricki.
Group G: Frankfurt, PAOK, HJK, Aberdeen.
Group H: Fenerbahçe, Ludogorets, Spartak Trnava, Nordsjaelland.
Aston Villa’s Group E is completed by Zrinjski so Villa fans need to start planning for a trip to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Aberdeen are pulled out and they face trips to Frankfurt, PAOK and HJK Helsinki.
Pot 4 features Aberdeen and my new favourite team Breiðablik. Here we go…
Icelanders Breiðablik go into Group B alongside Gent, Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Zorya Luhansk.
Continuing through Pot 3 and what a shame in Group F where the first two teams were Ferencvaros and Fiorentina. Genk ruin the pattern but only by one letter in the alphabet.
It’s back to Greek god Dellas for Pot 3.
Aston Villa are handed Polish side Legia Warszawa. Matty Cash is surely cheering that one.
Noble is completing Pot 2 now.
We have Viktoria Plzen in Group C with Dinamo Zagreb, Bodo Glimt in Group D with Club Brugge, Fiorentina in Group F with Ferencvaros, PAOK in Group G with Frankfurt and Ludogrets in Group H with Fenerbahce.
Now Pot 2 and Aston Villa.
Mark Noble pulls out Slovan Bratislava, who go into Group A with Lille. Maccabi Tel-Aviv are into Group B with Gent.
And then it’s Aston Villa, who are drawn in Group E with Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.
Updated
Looks quite complicated this one but the Uefa supercomputer can surely handle it.
Dellas is absolutely massive by the way. A huge man with huge hands. He rips open the first ball and it’s Lille, who go into Group A. That’s followed by Gent in Group B, Dinamo Zagreb in C, Club Brugge in D, AZ Alkmaar in E, Ferencvaros in F, Eintracht Frankfurt in G and, finally, Fenerbahce in H.
Time for the draw...
Let’s do this.
Uefa deputy general secretary Giorgio Marchetti is in place to explain everything we need to know. There are 28 countries represented in the 32-team draw. A reminder that Aston Villa are only in Pot 2 despite the bookies making them favourites to lift the trophy.
Our second guest? A clue: the final takes part in Athens so… yep, it’s Greece’s Euro 2004 hero Traianos Dellas. He’s playing the O’Shea Dublin role by acting as Ambassador for this season’s final in late May.
Time for the specials guests. And we start with Mark Noble or “Mr West Ham” as it says in Matt Smith’s script. Noble, looking a picture of health, reflects on last season’s triumph. West Ham were the second winners of this new competition after Roma landed the inaugural edition.
The big screens are now showing replays of West Ham’s triumph last year and that memorable late winning goal from Jarrod Bowen. “Oh what a night,” says presenter Matt Smith as he and Alex Scott reveal that the Europa Conference League player of the season award goes to Declan Rice.
Conference League draw about to start...
We’re just minutes away from today’s second draw. Who will Aston Villa get? And how about Aberdeen?
Updated
Kári Tulinius emails us. “You’re missing Breiðablik from pot four. They’re the first club from Iceland, incidentally, to make the group stages of a European competition, much like Klaksvík being the first Faroese team to achieve that. Big day for the West Nordic countries.”
Thanks Kári. Whoops. I’ve added them in and, thanks to your email, I now have an emotional attachment to Breiðablik for this draw and their entire season!
Ron Stack emails: “I’m a sucker for the Europa League because it features good teams that we rarely if ever get to see play. But you made up that last one in Group A.”
Ha! That would be TSC Backa Topola. They’re real Ron! The Serbians play at the TSC Arena which has a capacity of just 4,500. West Ham fans will get to see it for themselves after being drawn with TSC Backa Topola in Group A.
Updated
All 32 Europa Conference League teams
Here’s how the pots look for today’s second draw. The Europa Conference League final takes place in Athens on 29 May.
Pot 1: Frankfurt, Dinamo Zagreb, Club Brugge, AZ Alkmaar, Gent, Fenerbahce, Lille, Ferencvaros.
Pot 2: PAOK, Slovan Bratislava, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Viktoria Plzen, Aston Villa, Ludogrets, Fiorentina, Bodo Glimt.
Pot 3: Gent, Zorya Luhansk, Astana, Besiktas, HJK Helsinki, Legia Warsaw, Spartak Trnava, Olimpija Ljubljana.
Pot 4: Zrinjski, Klaksvik, Aberdeen, Cukaricki, Lugano, Nordsjaelland, Ballkani, Breiðablik.
As with the Europa League, these are the dates.
Matchday 1: 21 September
Matchday 2: 5 October
Matchday 3: 26 October
Matchday 4: 9 November
Matchday 5: 30 November
Matchday 6: 14 December
Group winners advance directly to the round of 16.
Group runners-up progress to the knockout round play-offs, where they will face one of eight teams transferring from the Europa League, who have finished third in their groups.
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Key event
A brief reminder of what the Europa League draw threw up for West Ham, Brighton, Liverpool and Rangers.
Group A: West Ham, Olympiacos, Freiburg, TSC Backa Topola
Group B: Ajax, Marseille, Brighton, AEK Athens
Group C: Rangers, Real Betis, Sparta Praha, Aris Limassol
Group D: Atalanta, Sporting CP, Sturm, Rakow
Group E: Liverpool, LASK, Union SG, Toulouse
I’ll be back later for the Europa Conference League draw at 1.30pm BST.
Here's how Group A looks, Hammers! 🇪🇺#UELdraw pic.twitter.com/XA9PIraPA7
— West Ham United (@WestHam) September 1, 2023
Group B in the @EuropaLeague, let's go! 👊 pic.twitter.com/lb9O9g1WvY
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) September 1, 2023
Our @EuropaLeague group is set ✅ pic.twitter.com/eZTNgi7etc
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 1, 2023
Our @EuropaLeague Group Stage draw 👇
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) September 1, 2023
Group C:
Rangers@RealBetis@ACSparta_CZ@ArisLimassol #UEL pic.twitter.com/CltHHWwGZY
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Will Mo Salah be part of Liverpool’s Thursday nights in Europe? A report on our live transfer blog says a huge bid from Al Ittihad has now come in.
Liverpool face short trips to Austria (LASK), Belgium (Union SG) and France (Toulouse) so Jürgen Klopp will be pleased with that.
The full Europa League draw
Group A: West Ham, Olympiacos, Freiburg, TSC Backa Topola
Group B: Ajax, Marseille, Brighton, AEK Athens
Group C: Rangers, Real Betis, Sparta Praha, Aris Limassol
Group D: Atalanta, Sporting CP, Sturm, Rakow
Group E: Liverpool, LASK, Union SG, Toulouse
Group F: Villarreal, Rennes, Maccabi Haifa, Panathinaikos
Group G: Roma, Slavia Praha, Sheriff, Servette
Group H: Bayer Leverkusen, Qarabag, Molde, Hacken.
Liverpool’s final Group E opponents are Toulouse. They add to LASK and Union SG. Not the most glamorous group!
The West Ham group is now complete. The Hammers will take on Olympiacos, Freiburg and TSC Backa Topola in Group A.
Brighton’s quartet is also known. Their Group B opponents are Ajax, Marseille and AEK Athens.
For Rangers in Group C it’s Real Betis, Sparta Praha and Aris Limassol.
Finally to complete Pot 3, Sherrif join Roma and Slavia Praha and Molde are put in with Leverkusen and Qarabag.
The Mac Allister brothers derby is on. Liverpool get Union SG of Belgium (where Alexis’s brother Kevin plays) in Group E.
In Group D, Sturm join Atalanta and Sporting. In Group F, Maccabi Haifa are in with Villarreal and Rennes.
Updated
Cracking draw for Brighton! They’re put in Group B with Marseille and Ajax. Exciting times!
West Ham get Freiburg in Group A while Sparta Praha join Rangers and Real Betis in Group C.
We round off with Villarreal in Group F with Rennes, Slavia Praha to Group G with Roma and Qarabag in Group H with Bayer Leverkusen.
Next, we have Sporting Club of Portugal alongside Atalanta. And then, it’s LASK for Liverpool!
Marseille are placed in Group B with Ajax while Real Betis are into Group C with Rangers.
Now it’s O’Shea to open the little balls. And he opens with Olympiacos who go into Group A with West Ham.
Pot 1 continues with Liverpool, the tournament favourites. They’re in Group E. In a nice Yellow Submarine segue, Villarreal are drawn next, in Group F. They’re followed by Roma in Group G and Bayer Leverkusen in Group H. And, oops, I missed Atalanta in Group D.
Updated
Giorgio Marchetti gives the balls a whirl and we’re off. First up, Mbia pulls out West Ham! They’re allocated to Group A. Ajax are out next for Group B while Rangers go into Group C. An exciting start!
We’re now getting an explanation of how the draw works.
We're ready for the draw!
Well, sort of. Just some scene-setting waffle to get through. Hang in there.
And now in walks the UEFA Europa League 2024 final ambassador John O’Shea. Why him? This is because the final is being played in Dublin, a venue the former Manchester United and Ireland star knows well.
“Liverpool will be in the mix,” says O’Shea, adding that Brighton can “definitely surprise a few teams”.
And now let’s welcome our special guests. First, it’s Stephane Mbia, who played in two finals for Sevilla and scored in one, both under Unai Emery. The Cameroon international will also be remembered by QPR fans. He walks in holding the iconic Europa League trophy and looking rather concerned that he’ll drop the thing. Thankfully as he plonks it down successfully.
This will take a while. Maybe scroll back down to that club badges graphic (11.34 BST) and test your knowledge.
Alex Scott and Matt Smith are hosting this one. We’re now seeing a montage of seven-time winners Sevilla. Liverpool have the next most number of wins in this tournament: three.
Plenty of potential storylines abound ahead of the draw. And here’s a good one: if Liverpool draw Union SG, that would set up a showdown between Alexis Mac Allister and his brother Kevin. Kev joined the Belgian club earlier this summer.
Dates for your diaries and format. The group stage is played on Thursdays from 21 September to 14 December. Games kick off at 5.45pm BST and 8pm BST.
Matchday 1: 21 September
Matchday 2: 5 October
Matchday 3: 26 October
Matchday 4: 9 November
Matchday 5: 30 November
Matchday 6: 14 December
Group winners advance to the last 16. The runners-up contest the knockout round play-offs against the third-placed sides from the Champions League. The third-placed sides in each Europa League group transfer to the Conference League knockout round play-offs, where they will face the Conference League group runners-up for places in the last 16.
The draw for the knockout round play-off (group runners-up and eight teams dropping down from the Champions League) takes place on 18 December.
All 32 teams in the draw
West Ham in Pot 1? Seems a bit generous. Here’s the official UEFA line on how and why.
“The first pot comprises Europa Conference League winners West Ham and the top seven clubs in the club coefficient rankings, the second group the next eight clubs in the rankings, and so on for Pots 3 and 4. No team can play a side from their own association. Paired clubs from the same country play at separate times.”
Pot 1: West Ham, Liverpool, Roma, Ajax, Villarreal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atalanta, Rangers.
Pot 2: Sporting CP, Slavia Praha, Rennes, Olympiacos, Real Betis, LASK, Marseille, Qarabag.
Pot 3: Molde, Brighton, Sheriff, Union SG, Freiburg, Sparta Praha, Maccabi Haifa, Sturm.
Pot 4: Toulouse, AEK Athens, TSC Backa Topola, Servette, Panathinaikos, Rakow, Aris Limassol, Hacken.
This is kind of a tough day for Liverpool fans after watching Newcastle being drawn in a glamour Champions League group against PSG, Borussia Dortmund, Milan. But, look, this competition can bring fun times. Remember 2001?
Let’s set the scene for the Europa League draw with this pleasing graphic. Look at all those Sevilla club badges. If you’re bored waiting for the draw, see if you can get every previous winner.
History ✅#UEL || #UELdraw pic.twitter.com/20XYHZqInA
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) September 1, 2023
Preamble
Hello. Bonjour. We’re live from Monaco for not one draw but two. First up at 12pm BST (or sometime afterwards knowing the usual faff), it’s the Europa League draw where 32 teams including Liverpool and Brighton discover what Thursday nights will hold in store this season. And if you want more, that’s followed by the Europa Conference League draw at 1.30pm BST where another 32 randoms are thrown together. Aston Villa will be hoping to repeat West Ham’s Tin Pot heroics from last year while the Hammers themselves have moved up a level to the Europa League, taking a spot in Pot 1 alongside Liverpool, Rangers, Roma, Ajax, Villarreal, Bayer Leverkusen and Atalanta. Stay tuned!
