Europa League group stage draw pots confirmed
Thursday, August 30, 2018
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What time is the draw? What are the pots? How can I follow it? Get the lowdown on Friday's draw.
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When and where is the draw?
The draw begins at 13:00CET on Friday 31 August at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.
Who is involved in the draw and what are the pots?
Pot 1
Sevilla (ESP) coefficient 113.000*
Arsenal (ENG) 93.000
Chelsea (ENG) 82.000
Zenit (RUS) 78.000*
Bayer Leverkusen (GER) 66.000
Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) 62.000**
Beşiktaş (TUR) 57.000*
Salzburg (AUT) 55.500**
Olympiacos (GRE) 54.000*
Villarreal (ESP) 52.000
Anderlecht (BEL) 48.000
Lazio (ITA) 41.000
Pot 2
Sporting CP (POR) 40.000
Ludogorets (BUL) 37.000*
København (DEN) 34.000*
Marseille (FRA) 32.000
Celtic (SCO) 31.000*
PAOK (GRE) 29.500**
AC Milan (ITA) 28.000
Genk (BEL) 27.000*
Fenerbahçe (TUR) 23.500***
Krasnodar (RUS) 23.500
Astana (KAZ) 21.750*
Rapid Wien (AUT) 21.500*
Pot 3
Real Betis (ESP) 21.399
BATE Borisov (BLR) 20.500**
Qarabağ (AZE) 20.500*
Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) 17.500**
RB Leipzig (GER) 17.000*
Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) 14.285
Malmö (SWE) 14.000*
Spartak Moskva (RUS) 13.500***
Standard Liège (BEL) 12.500***
Zürich (SUI) 12.000
Bordeaux (FRA) 11.283*
Rennes (FRA) 11.283
Pot 4
Apollon (CYP) 10.000*
Rosenborg (NOR) 9.000*
Vorskla Poltava (UKR) 8.226
Slavia Praha (CZE) 7.500***
Akhisar Belediyespor (TUR) 7.160
Jablonec (CZE) 6.035
AEK Larnaca (CYP) 4.310*
Vidi (HUN) 4.250**
Rangers (SCO) 3.725*
Dudelange (LUX) 3.500*
Spartak Trnava (SVK) 3.500*
Sarpsborg (NOR) 3.485*
17 teams qualified automatically
* 21 teams advanced from the play-off round
** 6 teams defeated in UEFA Champions League play-off round
*** 4 teams defeated in UEFA Champions League third qualifying round league path
HOW THE NEW COMPETITION SYSTEM WORKS
How will the draw work?
The 48 entrants have been split into four seeding pots based on their club coefficients, with each of the eventual 12 groups to contain one team from each seeding tier.
Under a new system, club coefficients are determined either by the sum of all points won in the previous five years or by the association coefficient over the same period – whichever is higher.
No team can play a club from their own association and, based on decisions taken by the UEFA Executive Committee, clubs from Russia and Ukraine must not be drawn in the same group.
Why are some clubs paired?
In the case of associations with two or more representatives, clubs have been paired so that they play with different kick-off times (18.55CET and 21:00CET) for the benefit of TV audiences. The pairings are:
Sevilla & Real Betis
Arsenal & Chelsea
Zenit & Spartak Moskva
Dynamo Kyiv & Vorskla
Beşiktaş & Fenerbahçe
Salzburg & Rapid Wien
Olympiacos & PAOK
Anderlecht & Standard Liège
Lazio & AC Milan
Marseille & Bordeaux
Celtic & Rangers
RB Leipzig & Eintracht Frankfurt
Apollon Limassol & AEK Larnaca
Rosenborg & Sarpsborg
Slavia Praha & Jablonec
If a paired club is drawn, for example, in groups A, B, C, D, E or F the other paired club – once drawn – will automatically be assigned to the first available group of G, H, I, J, K or L.
UEFA Europa League Player of the Season
The 2017/18 UEFA Europa League Player of the Season award will also be presented during the ceremony. Diego Godín, Antoine Griezmann and Dimitri Payet are the three contenders.
When are the group stage games?
20 September: Group stage, matchday one
4 October: Group stage, matchday two
25 October: Group stage, matchday three
8 November: Group stage, matchday four
29 November: Group stage, matchday five
13 December: Group stage, matchday six
What comes after that?
17 December: Round of 32 draw
14 February: Round of 32 first leg
21 February: Round of 32, second leg
22 February: Round of 16 draw
7 March: Round of 16, first leg
14 March: Round of 16, second leg
15 March: Quarter-final & semi-final draw
11 April: Quarter-finals, first leg
18 April: Quarter-finals, second leg
2 May: Semi-finals, first leg
9 May: Semi-finals, second leg
Wednesday 29 May: Final – Olympic Stadium, Baku