The Champions League might be Europe's premier club competition, but the Europa League is just as exciting.
Last year's winners Villarreal are defending champions after defeating Manchester United in the final, and will not be participating in the tournament as they automatically qualified to the Champions Legue as winners.
Big European names, however, such as Lyon, Napoli and Bayer Leverkusen are all set to participate.
Goal has everything you need to know about Europa League group stage draw for 2021-22, including when it is, how to watch it, which teams are involved and more.
Contents
- When is the Europa League 21-22 group stage draw?
- Which teams are involved in the Europa League 21-22 group stage?
- When does the Europa League 21-22 group stage start?
- How can I watch the Europa League group stage draw?
When is the Europa League 21-22 group stage draw?
The Europa League 2020-21 group stage draw will take place on Friday August 27, 2021.
It will be held in Istanbul.
Draw proceedings will commence at 11am BST (6am ET).
As is tradition, UEFA will also use the occasion to present awards to the best players, teams and coaches of the 2021-22 competition.
Which teams are involved in the Europa League 21-22 group stage?
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lyon | Celtic | Marseille | Rapid Wien |
| Napoli | Eintracht Frankfurt | Ludogorets | Galatasaray |
| Bayer Leverkusen | Red Star Belgrade | West Ham | Legia Warsaw |
| Dinamo Zagreb | Leicester City | Real Sociedad | Midtjylland |
| Lazio | Rangers | Real Betis | Ferencvaros |
| Olympiacos | Lokomotiv Moscow | Fenerbahce | Antwerp |
| Monaco | Genk | Spartak Moscow | Sturm Graz |
| Braga | PSV | Sparta Prague | Brondby |
The Europa League group stage draw will involve a total of 32 teams - automatic qualifiers, winning teams from the Europa League play-off round, four teams eliminated from the Champions League play-off round Champions Path, two teams eliminated from the Champions League play-off round League Path and four teams eliminated from the Champions League third qualifying round League Path.
You can see the confirmed teams that will be part of the draw in the table above.
When does the Europa League 21-22 group stage start?
The Europa League 2020-21 group stage begins with matches on Thursday September 16.
There will be a total of six gameweeks in the group stage, with the last series of matches taking place on Thursday December 9.
How can I watch the Europa League group stage draw?
UEFA's official website will broadcast the draw ceremony live and that can be accessed here.