Europa League group stage draw: time, teams and streaming

The 2021/22 UEFA Europa League group stage draw takes place from 12:00 CET on Friday 27 August in Istanbul, Turkey.

The draw will be streamed live on UEFA.com.

Who is involved in the draw?

ENG: Leicester City, West Ham
ESP: Real Sociedad, Real Betis
ITA: Napoli, Lazio
GER: Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkusen
FRA: Lyon, Marseille, Monaco**
POR: Braga
NED: PSV Eindhoven**
SCO: Celtic*, Rangers*
AUT: Rapid Wien*, Sturm Graz*
RUS: Lokomotiv Moskva, Spartak Moskva**
SRB: Crvena zvezda*
BEL: Antwerp*, Genk**
TUR: Fenerbahçe*, Galatasaray*
GRE: Olympiacos*
DEN: Midtjylland**, Brøndby**
CZE: Sparta Praha**
CRO: Dinamo Zagreb**
BUL: Ludogorets**
HUN: Ferencváros**
POL: Legia Warszawa*

12 automatic entrants
*10 UEFA Europa League play-off winners
**10 sides transferring from UEFA Champions League play-offs and third qualifying round (4 from Champions Path, 6 from League Path)

What are the draw pots?

Teams have been divided into four pots based on their UEFA club coefficients.

Pot 1
Lyon (FRA)
Napoli (ITA)
Leverkusen (GER)
GNK Dinamo (CRO)
Lazio (ITA)
Olympiacos (GRE)
Monaco (FRA)
Braga (POR)

Pot 2
Celtic (SCO)
Frankfurt (GER)
Crvena zvezda (SRB)
Leicester (ENG)
Rangers (SCO)
Lokomotiv Moskva (RUS)
Genk (BEL)
PSV Eindhoven (NED)

Pot 3
Marseille (FRA)
Ludogorets (BUL)
West Ham (ENG)
Real Sociedad (ESP)
Real Betis (ESP)
Fenerbahçe (TUR)
Spartak Moskva (RUS)
Sparta Praha (CZE)

Pot 4
Rapid Wien (AUT)
Galatasaray (TUR)
Legia Warszawa (POL)
Midtjylland (DEN)
Ferencváros (HUN)
Antwerp (BEL)
Sturm Graz (AUT)
Brøndby (DEN)

Clubs' coefficients are determined either by the sum of all coefficient points won in the previous five years or by the association coefficient over the same period – whichever is higher.

How does the draw work?

• Final Ambassador Andrés Palop and special guest Marcos Senna will assist with the draw.
• One team from each of the four seeding pots will be drawn into the eight groups, A–H.
• No team can play a club from their own association. Any other restrictions will be announced before the draw.

Will clubs be paired?

In the case of associations with two or more representatives (including in the UEFA Europa Conference League), clubs have been 'paired' in order that they play at different kick-off times (18:45 CET and 21:00 CET) for the benefit of TV audiences.

If a 'paired' club is drawn, for example, in Group A, B, C or D then the other 'paired' club – once drawn – will automatically be assigned to the first available section out of Groups E, F, G or H.

The pairings are as follows:

A Lyon & Marseille
B Napoli & Lazio
C Leverkusen & Frankfurt
D Olympiacos & UECL
E Monaco & UECL
F Celtic & Rangers
G Crvena zvezda & UECL
H Leicester & West Ham
I Lokomotiv Moskva & Spartak Moskva
J Genk & Antwerp
K PSV Eindhoven & UECL
L Ludogorets & UECL
M Real Sociedad & Real Betis
N Fenerbahçe & Galatasaray
O Rapid Wien & Sturm Graz
P Midtjylland & Brøndby

When will fixtures be confirmed?

The full fixture list for the group stage will be communicated on Friday evening after taking into account the calendars of participating clubs and stakeholders.

Match dates
Matchday 1: 16 September
Matchday 2: 30 September
Matchday 3: 21 October
Matchday 4: 4 November
Matchday 5: 25 November
Matchday 6: 9 December

How does the group stage work?

Teams in each group face each other home and away, with the same sides meeting on Matchdays 1 and 5, or Matchdays 2 and 6, or Matchdays 3 and 4.

The top three clubs will continue their European campaigns in the new year:

• Group winners progress to the round of 16.
• Group runners-up go into the new knockout round play-offs, where they will face the third-placed UEFA Champions League teams for places in the round of 16.
• Third-placed sides transfer to the UEFA Europa Conference League knockout round play-offs.

Draws are provisional and subject to the outcome of ongoing investigations and/or legal proceedings and final confirmation by UEFA.