The draws for the Europa League and Conference League take place this afternoon ahead of the start of a new era for European football.
Following on from the new-look Champions League draw yesterday, both the Europa League and Conference League will embrace new formats ahead of this season. The new competitions will look similar to the Champions League, as a 36-team league format replaces the previous group stage. As a result, the draw will look different too: teams will be handed fixtures, rather than being selected into groups.
Manchester United, Tottenham and Rangers will take their place in the Europa League. United qualified for Europe by winning the FA Cup while Spurs returned to European competition at the first attempt under Ange Postecoglou. Rangers were finalists in 2022 and are the only Scottish side in the Europa League this season.
In the Uefa Conference League, Chelsea are the only Premier League team in the hat – the Blues qualified through the play-offs after beating Servette on Thursday night. They are joined, though, by Hearts from Scotland, The New Saints from Wales, Larne from Northern Ireland and Shamrock Rovers from the Republic of Ireland.
Follow all the latest updates from the Europa League and Uefa Conference League draws, below
What could a Europa League draw look like?
The pots themselves don’t matter as much now anyway, as teams will be drawn against two teams from each pot, inlcuding their own.
Every team in the draw will play two games against a team from Pot 1, for example, whether you are Manchester United or Elfsborg.
A draw for Manchester United, therefore, could look like this: Erik ten Hag’s side will play two teams from each pot, including their own, to give them eight fixtures overall.
One match from each pot would be home, the other away. And you can’t draw teams from your country.
Pot 1 – Roma (h), Rangers (a)
Pot 2 – Real Sociedad (h), Fenerbache (a)
Pot 3 – Dynamov Kyiv (h), Malmo (a)
Pot 4 – Nice (h), Athletic Club (a)
Jamie Braidwood30 August 2024 11:00
Europa League: What are the pots?
- Athletic Club (ESP)
- Hoffenheim (GER)
- Nice (FRA)
- Anderlecht (BEL)
- Twente (NED)
- Besiktas (TUR)
- FCSB (ROU)
- RFS (LVA)
- Elfsborg (SWE)
Jamie Braidwood30 August 2024 10:40
Europa League: What are the pots?
- Qarabag (AZE)
- Galatasaray (TUR)
- Viktoria Plzen (CZE)
- Bodø/Glimt (NOR)
- Union SG (BEL)
- Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)
- Ludogorets (BUL)
- Midtjylland (DEN)
- Malmo (SWE)
Jamie Braidwood30 August 2024 10:20
Europa League: What are the pots?
- Real Sociedad (ESP)
- AZ Alkmaar (NED)
- Braga (POR)
- Olympiacos (GRE)
- Lyon (FRA)
- PAOK (GRE)
- Fenerbahçe (TUR)
- M. Tel-Aviv (ISR)
- Ferencváros (HUN)
Jamie Braidwood30 August 2024 10:00
Europa League: What are the pots?
- Roma (ITA)
- Manchester United (ENG)
- Porto (POR)
- Ajax (NED)
- Rangers (SCO)
- Frankfurt (GER)
- Lazio (ITA)
- Tottenham (ENG)
- Slavia Praha (CZE)
Jamie Braidwood30 August 2024 09:40
Europa League: Who’s in the draw?
Manchester United, Tottenham and Rangers are all in the 36-team draw for the Europa League: watch out for Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce, Athletic and Real Sociedad from Spain, and Lazio and Roma from Italy.
- Netherlands (3): Ajax, AZ, Twente
- Türkiye (3): Besiktas, Fenerbahce, Galatasaray
- Belgium (2): Anderlecht, Union Saint-Gilloise
- Czechia (2): Slavia Praha, Viktoria Plzeň
- England (2): Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
- France (2): Nice, Lyon
- Germany (2): Eintracht Frankfurt, Hoffenheim
- Greece (2): Olympiacos, PAOK
- Italy (2): Lazio, Roma
- Portugal (2): Braga, Porto
- Spain (2): Athletic Club, Real Sociedad
- Sweden (2): Elfsborg, Malmo
- Azerbaijan (1): Qarabag
- Bulgaria (1): Ludogorets
- Denmark (1): Midtjylland
- Hungary (1): Ferencváros
- Israel (1): M. Tel-AvivLatvia (1): RFS
- Norway (1): Bodø/Glimt
- Romania (1): FCSB
- Scotland (1): Rangers
- Ukraine (1): Dynamo Kyiv
Jamie Braidwood30 August 2024 09:20
How will the Europa League draw work?
All eight matches will be played against different teams, with four at home and four away, and organised by seeding. All the results would contribute to the overall league ranking.
Teams will be seeded in four pots based on their individual club coefficient at the beginning of the season. Each team will then be drawn against two opponents from each pot, one of which will be at home and one away.
In the league phase teams cannot face opponents from their country and can be drawn against a maximum of two sides from the same country.
All 36 teams will be manually drawn using physical balls. For every team manually drawn, a designated automated software will randomly draw eight opponents across the four pots, who will be revealed on screen in the draw hall and on television. The software will also decide which matches will be at home and which ones away.
The Conference League draw is the same, but only six matches are drawn.
Jamie Braidwood30 August 2024 09:05
What will the new Europa League and Conference League look like?
Under the new Europa League format, teams will play eight matches against eight different teams, rather than three teams twice as was previously the case.
Four extra clubs will be added to take the number up to 36, and a single league format will be used. The league phase will determine an overall ranking – from 1st to 36th, with three points for a win and one for a draw as usual.
The top eight teams will advance to the last 16, with the 16 teams finishing between ninth and 24th entering the play-off round over two legs, with a victory securing passage to the last 16.
The same applies for the Conference League, except teams will play six matches against six different teams, rather than eight.
Jamie Braidwood30 August 2024 09:04
Good morning
Welcome to our live coverage of this afternoon’s Europa League and Uefa Conference League draws.
We’ll start with the Europa League at 12pm, following by the Conference League at 1:30pm.
Both draws will be streamed live online via the Uefa website and Uefa YouTube channel.
Jamie Braidwood30 August 2024 09:03