August 30 – More quality matches from the outset and more riding on every game remained the enduring theme of UEFA’s Europa League draw in Monaco.
The expanded 36 team competition followed the same draw format of the Champions League draw the day before, with four pots of nine clubs and teams ranked by their UEFA coefficient.
The group stage has been dropped in favour of a League Phase which will see teams play eight matches against eight different teams, four at home and four away, with two teams drawn from each of the ranking pots.
The point being hammered home is that every game and every goal will mean something as the League progresses with the top 16 spots being the ranking positions that dictate who clubs will face in the last 16.
The draw in Monaco at the Grimaldi Forum once again turned to the computer algorithm to decide the match-ups and home teams.
The first blood drawn was a set of battle of Britain match-ups with Rangers, in Pot 1, being paired with Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. Rangers weren’t handed any favours from pot 2 either, drawing Lyon and Olympiakos.
Spurs and Man Utd will both face Serie A sides, Roma and Lazio, in their other Pot 1 pairing.
To see the full draw, click here.
2024/25 Europa League: League phase draw pots
Pot 1
Roma (ITA), Manchester United (ENG), Porto (POR), Ajax (NED), Rangers (SCO)
Frankfurt (GER), Lazio (ITA), Tottenham (ENG), Slavia Praha (CZE)
Pot 2
Real Sociedad (ESP), AZ Alkmaar (NED), Braga (POR), Olympiacos (GRE), Lyon (FRA), PAOK (GRE), Fenerbahçe (TUR), M. Tel-Aviv (ISR), Ferencváros (HUN)
Pot 3
Qarabağ (AZE), Galatasaray (TUR), Viktoria Plzeň (CZE), Bodø/Glimt (NOR)
Union SG (BEL), Dynamo Kyiv (UKR), Ludogorets (BUL), Midtjylland (DEN), Malmö (SWE)
Pot 4
Athletic Club (ESP), Hoffenheim (GER), Nice (FRA), Anderlecht (BEL), Twente (NED), Beşiktaş (TUR), FCSB (ROU), RFS (LVA), Elfsborg (SWE)