Rangers are also involved in new 36-team league phase that has replaced the traditional group stage
George Flood1 minute ago
Europa League draw LIVE!
Manchester United and Tottenham will discover their opponents this afternoon as the draw for the significantly revamped 2024/25 Europa League takes place at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Uefa have made sweeping upgrades to the continent’s secondary club competition this term to mirror the huge alterations to the new-look Champions League, the much-changed draw for which took place seemingly without a hitch yesterday.
The Europa League’s traditional group stage has also now been replaced by a new league phase in which 36 teams are split into four pots of nine based on their latest coefficient rankings. Each club will face two teams from each pot, playing eight games in total - four at home and four away. The draw is semi-automated and teams from the same nation are kept apart at this stage, meaning no early showdown between Manchester United and Spurs is possible.
Both Premier League representatives are in Pot 1, the significance of which has now been greatly reduced with plenty of tough ties potentially looming against the likes of Roma, Rangers, Porto and Ajax. The top-eight finishers will all go straight through to the last 16, while a knockout play-off round awaits for those who end up between ninth and 24th. Follow the Europa League draw live below!
Europa League draw latest news
Draw stage is set
The stage is set at the glamourous Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, where the Europa League draw is just over half an hour away now...
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Tottenham bid to banish memories of Dinamo Zagreb nightmare
Having been beaten to fourth spot in the Premier League and the final Champions League qualification berth by Aston Villa last season, Tottenham are back in the Europa League for the first time since the 2020/21 season, when Jose Mourinho’s side were stunned by Dinamo Zagreb in the last 16 after a shocking 3-0 second-leg loss in Croatia that saw a hat-trick from Mislav Orsic that wiped out their 2-0 aggregate advantage.
Spurs had to go through qualifying that year and beat both Shkendija of North Macedonia and Maccabi Haifa before topping a group that contained Antwerp, LASK and Ludogorets.
They were knocked out of the Conference League group stage the following year after forfeiting a tie against Rennes, before reaching the Champions League last 16 in 2022/23 and losing to AC Milan.
There was no European football at all for Tottenham during Ange Postecoglou’s first season at the helm.
The best they have managed in this tournament in recent years has been the quarter-finals in 2012/13, where they were ousted by Basel on penalties, though they were two-time winners of the old Uefa Cup back in the 1970s and 1980s.
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Europa League play-off results
A reminder of last night’s play-off second-leg results and the aggregate scores that completed today’s draw lineup...
Dream and nightmare draw scenarios for Man United and Tottenham
So, what are the best and worst-case scenarios for Tottenham and Manchester United today do we think?
The Pot 1 dangers are obvious, while Pot 2 also contains some obvious challenges including Real Sociedad, Lyon, holders Olympiacos and Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce.
Galatasaray are among the dangers lurking in Pot 3, with Qarabag in Azerbaijan among the longest of trips on offer.
Pot 4 also has its tests including Athletic Club and Besiktas, as well as a potentially unfamiliar name to many in FK RFS of Latvia.
I guess the dream and nightmare scenarios for the English clubs would be something like this...
Dream scenario
Slavia Prague, Eintracht Frankfurt, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Ferencvaros, Bodo/Glimt, Malmo, Elfsborg, FK RFS
Nightmare scenario
Roma, Porto, Real Sociedad, Olympiacos, Galatasaray, Qarabag, Athletic Club, Besiktas
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Europa League draw restrictions
A reminder that no two teams from the same country can be drawn together during this new-look opening league phase, so there will be no early tie between Tottenham and Manchester United.
Clubs can also only be drawn against a maximum of two teams from any other country.
However, United and Spurs could end up facing Rangers, who are placed alongside them in Pot 1.
In yesterday’s Champions League draw, Celtic ended up with a trip to face Aston Villa.
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When will the Europa League fixtures be played?
The exact dates and kick-off times for all the fixtures drawn for this new opening Europa League phase will be confirmed by Uefa on Saturday.
But here’s the general outline for each matchday...
Matchday 1: September 25-26, 2024
Matchday 2: October 3, 2024
Matchday 3: October 24, 2024
Matchday 4: November 7, 2024
Matchday 5: November 28, 2024
Matchday 6: December 12, 2024
Matchday 7: January 23, 2025
Matchday 8: January 30, 2025
How does the new Europa League format work?
So how exactly does this new Europa League format work?
Well, as with the Champions League, the old group-stage format has now been axed and replaced by a 36-team league phase featuring every club.
The teams have been placed into four pots of nine depending on their individual coefficient ranking and will play eight games in total during the league phase, four at home and four away.
Each club will play two teams from each pot, including their own, with a computer to decide the fixtures in a semi-automated draw after each team have been drawn out manually first.
The top eight finishers at the end of this new league phase will all head straight through to the last 16, with teams that finish from ninth to 24th facing a two-legged knockout play-off round.
Those that end up 25th and below will be eliminated from European football altogether in the New Year.
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Confirmed pots for Europa League draw
The play-off ties for the 2024/25 Europa League concluded with last night’s slew of second legs, which featured no shortage of drama.
Hearts and Shamrock Rovers were among the teams that fell at the final qualifying hurdle.
Here are the confirmed Europa League draw pots after Thursday’s action, with Manchester United, Tottenham and Rangers all in Pot 1 due to their Uefa coefficient rankings.
However, as we’ll discover in a moment, that is no longer the advantage that it used to be...
Pot 1: AS Roma, Manchester United, Porto, Ajax, Rangers, Eintracht Frankfurt, Lazio, Tottenham, Slavia Prague
Pot 2: Real Sociedad, AZ Alkmaar, Braga, Olympiacos, Lyon, PAOK, Fenerbahce, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Ferencvaros
Pot 3: Qarabag, Galatasaray, Viktoria Plzen, Bodo/Glimt, Union SG, Dynamo Kyiv, Ludogorets, Midtjylland, Malmo
Pot 4: Athletic Club, Hoffenheim, Nice, Anderlecht, Twente, Besiktas, FK RFS, Steaua Bucharest, Elfsborg
Where to watch Europa League draw
TV channel: Today’s draw will be shown on TNT Sports 1.
Coverage starts at 12pm BST and the draw will commence shortly after.
Live stream: TNT Sports subscribers will also be able to watch live online via the Discovery+ website and app.
UEFA.com and the TNT Sports YouTube channel will also be showing the draw live for free.
Europa League draw live
Good morning and welcome to Standard Sport’s live coverage of the draw for the revamped 2024/25 Europa League.
Tottenham, Manchester United and Rangers are all poised to discover their opponents this afternoon for the new-look competition, which mirrors the Champions League in terms of a bold new format that sees the traditional group stage replaced by a new 36-team league phase.
Proceedings at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco are expected to get underway at 12pm BST, so stay tuned for all the latest news, live updates and plenty more including an explainer on the new format, confirmed pots and the best and worst-case scenarios for the British clubs involved.
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