The Europa League has followed the Champions League by adopting a completely new format for the 2024/25 season.
FA Cup winners Manchester United, and Tottenham, who finished fifth in the Premier League last season, plus Scotland’s representatives Rangers, are awaiting the new-look draw which will take place from midday UK time on Friday.
Like the Champions League, UEFA’s second-tier competition will have 36 teams in a single league, with sides playing eight different opponents as they strive to reach the knockout phase, which will feature an extra play-off round before the round of 16.
Here’s all the need to know about how the new-look Europa League draw will work…
The draw process
Traditionally, the names of teams, according to their seeding status, were completely hand-drawn. However, under the new format, that would take up to four hours and is therefore unworkable, according to UEFA.
So in keeping with modern life in general, AI technology will do most of the leg work. Clubs still be seeded according to their coefficient. But instead of being hand-picked, matches will be randomly drawn by dedicated software. To avoid accusations of draw-rigging, UEFA insists the automated system will be independently monitored regularly.
Teams will be split into four pots. For example, when a team in pot one is manually drawn, the technology will pick eight opponents, two from each pot. The software will also randomly decide which side plays are at home and away.
HAVE YOUR SAY! What do you think of the changes? Tell us in the comments section.
Each team will face one side from each pot at home and one away. Clubs from the same country will be kept apart in the league phase while each team will play a maximum of two opponents from one other nation.
While United and Spurs cannot play each other in the league phase, one of them could face Rangers. United, Tottenham and Rangers will be joined by the likes of Roma, Lazio and Porto in Pot 1.
Knockout phase
Where you finish in the league will determine your future in the competition. The goal for every team after their eight matches will be to finish in the top eight, which means an automatic spot in the round of 16.
Sides finishing in ninth to 24th place will compete in a two-legged play-off to secure a place in the last 16. Clubs from 25th to 36th will exit the competition.
What about the Conference League?
UEFA’s recently-introduced third-tier competition will follow a similar format with a subtle difference. Teams will be seeded in six pots, with each team facing six opponents, one from each pot.