The Europa League group-stage draw has been revealed, with Liverpool and West Ham taking part this year along with Brighton – who are playing European football for the first time in their history.
The draw saw Liverpool – who landed their place after failing to win the Champions’ League last season – placed in Group E along with Austrian club LASK, Belgium’s Royale Union Saint-Gilloise and Toulouse of France.
West Ham, who won the UEFA Conference League last term, are in Group A alongside Greek side Olympiacos, Bundesliga team Freiburg and Serbian club FK TSC Backa Topola – while Brighton have landed in the same group as Dutch giants Ajax, French side Marseille and AEK Athens of Greece.
The tournament with start with group matches, with the automatic qualifiers from each group going through to the round of 16.
The remainder of the final 16 will be decided by the third-placed sides in each Europa League group going into the knockout play-offs, where they will play the Europa Conference League group runners-up for those coveted spots.
This season’s final will be held at the Dublin Arena in the Republic of Ireland on May 22, 2024.
When are the 2023/24 Europa League group stage matches?
The group stages will kick off on September 21 and run through until December.
Here are the dates to be aware of:
- Matchday 1: 21 September 2023
- Matchday 2: 5 October 2023
- Matchday 3: 26 October 2023
- Matchday 4: 9 November 2023
- Matchday 5: 30 November 2023
- Matchday 6: 14 December 2023
When is the 2023/24 Europa League knockout stage?
The latter stage of the competition will see the knockout round play-offs take place on February 15 and 22 2024
The Round of 16 matches will be played on March 7 and 14, with the quarter-finals on April 11 and 18.
The semi-finals are on May 2 and 9, while the final will take place on May 22.
What are the groups for the 2023/24 Europa League?
Here’s how the groups shape up after the draw:
- Group A: West Ham, Olympiakos, Freiburg, TSC Backa Topola
- Group B: Ajax, Marseille, Brighton, AEK Athens
- Group C: Rangers, Real Betis, Sparta Prague, Aris Limassol
- Group D: Atalanta, Sporting CP, Sturm Graz, Raków Czestochowa
- Group E: Liverpool, LASK, Union SG, Toulouse
- Group F: Villarreal, Rennes, Maccabi Haifa, Panathinaikos
- Group G: AS Roma, Slavia Prague, Sheriff Tiraspol, Servette
- Group H: Leverkusen, Qarabag, Molde, Häcken
Europa Lague 2023/24 groups
Group A
- West Ham United
- Olympiakos
- Freiburg
- TSC Backa Topola
Group B
- Ajax
- Marseille
- Brighton
- AEK Athens
Group C
- Rangers
- Real Betis
- Sparta Prague
- Aris Limassol
Group D
- Atalanta
- Sporting CP
- Sturm Graz
- Raków Czestochowa
Group E
- Liverpool
- LASK
- Union SG
- Toulouse
Group F
- Villarreal
- Rennes
- Maccabi Haifa
- Panathinaikos
Group G
- AS Roma
- Slavia Prague
- Sheriff Tiraspol
- Servette
Group H
- Leverkusen
- Qarabag
- Molde
- Häcken
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