The 2018/19 Europa League group stage draw in full
Group A: Bayer Leverkusen, Ludogorets, FC Zurich, AEK Larnaca.
Group B: FC Salzburg, Celtic, RB Leipzig, Rosenborg.
Group C: Zenit St Petersburg, FC Copenhagen, Bordeaux, Slavia Prague.
Group D: Anderlecht, Fenerbahce, Dinamo Zagreb, Spartak Trnava.
Group E: Arsenal, Sporting CP, Qarabag, FC Vorskla.
Group F: Olympiakos, AC Milan, Real Betis, Dudelange.
Group G: Villarreal, Rapid Vienna, Spartak Moscow, Rangers.
Group H: Lazio, Marseille, Eintracht Frankfurt, APOE.
Group I: Besiktas, Genk, Malmo, Sarpsborg.
Group J: Sevilla, Krasnodar, Standard Liege, Akhisarspor.
Group K: Dynamo Kiev, Astana, Rennes, Jablonec.
Group L: Chelsea, PAOK, BATE, Vidi FC.
August 31, 2018
The draw is complete!
All 48 teams now know their opponents! Chelsea and Arsenal will more than fancy their chances of progressing, though the presence of FC Salzburg and RB Leipzig in the same group is likely to create some headaches for UEFA given their close links.
Vidi FC - Group L
Chelsea, PAOK, BATE Borisov, Vidi FC.
Jablonec - Group K
Dinamo Kiev, Astana, Rennes, Jablonec.
Sarpsborg - Group I
Besiktas, Genk, Malmo, Sarpsborg.
Akhisarspor - Group J
Sevilla, Krasnodar, Standard Liege, Akhisarspor.
Apollon Limassol - Group H
Lazio, Marseille, Eintracht Frankfurt, Apollon Limassol.
Dudelange - Group F
Olympiakos, AC Milan, Real Betis, Dudelange.
Vorskla - Group E
Arsenal, Sporting Lisbon, Qarabag, Vorskla.
Spartak Trnava - Group D
Anderlecht, Fenerbahce, Dinamo Zagreb, Spartak Trnava.
Rangers - Group G
Villarreal, Rapid Vienna, Spartak Moscow, Rangers.
Slavia Prague - Group C
Zenit, FC Kobenhavn, Bordeaux, Slavia Prague.
Rosenborg - Group B
FC Salzburg, Celtic, RB Leipzig, Rosenborg.
Larnaca - Group A
Bayer Leverkusen, Ludogorets, FC Zurich, Larnaca.
We're into the final stretch here
Rangers are up next in pot four, along with several Europa League debutants.
BATE Borisov - Group L
Chelsea, PAOK, BATE.
Rennes - Group K
Dinamo Kiev, Astana, Rennes.
Malmo - Group I
Besiktas, Genk, Malmo.
Real Betis - Group F
Olympiakos, AC Milan, Real Betis.
Standard Liege - Group J
Sevilla, Krasnodar, Standard Liege.
Qarabag - Group E
Arsenal, Sporting Lisbon, Qarabag.
Dinamo Zagreb - Group D
Anderlecht, Fenerbahce, Dinamo Zagreb.
Eintracht Frankfurt - Group H
Lazio, Marseille, Eintracht Frankfurt.
Bordeaux - Group C
Zenit, FC Kobenhavn, Bordeaux.
Spartak Moscow - Group G
Villarreal, Rapid Vienna, Spartak Moscow.
FC Zurich - Group A
Bayer Levekusen, Ludogorets, FC Zurich.
RB Leipzig - Group B
FC Salzburg, Celtic, RB Leipzig.
That's that for pot two
We're halfway through the draw now, Real Betis and RB Leipzig enter the fray in pot three.
PAOK - Group L
Chelsea, PAOK.
Astana - Group K
Dinamo Kiev, Astana.
Krasnodar - Group J
Sevilla, Krasnodar.
Genk - Group I
Besiktas, Genk.
Marseille - Group H
Lazio, Marseille.
AC Milan - Group F
Olympiakos, AC Milan.
Sporting Lisbon - Group E
Arsenal, Sporting Lisbon.
Fenerbahce - Group D
Anderlecht, Fenerbahce.
FC Kobenhaven - Group C
Zenit, FC Kobenhavn.
Celtic - Group B
FC Salzburg, Celtic.
Rapid Vienna - Group G
Villarreal, Rapid Vienna.
Ludogorets - Group A
Bayer Levekusen, Ludogorets.
Pot one is complete
We move on to pot two, which contains three former champions.
Chelsea - Group L
Dinamo Kiev - Group K
Sevilla - Group J
Besiktas - Group I
Lazio - Group H
Villarreal - Group G
Olympiakos - Group F
Arsenal - Group E
Anderlecht - Group D
Zenit - Group C
FC Salzburg - Group B
Bayer Leverkusen - Group A
The Germans are the first team out!
We're underway!
A reminder of the regulations of the draw
We're given a reminder of the regulations that the draw will follow as we prepare to get things underway here.
UEFA's special guests are welcomed
Former Holland international Aron Winter will be helping to conduct the draw today, along with Hernan Crespo.
Antoine Griezmann is named Player of the Year!
The Atletico Madrid man beats off competition from Dimitri Payet and Diego Godin to take home the award. A fitting reward for his brace in the final.
August 31, 2018
Three debutants await their fate
Jablonec, Dudelange and Sarpsborg of the Czech Republic, Luxembourg and Norway respectively will make their first ever group stage appearances this season. The likes of AC Milan, Arsenal and Chelsea could be waiting in the wings...
Here we go!
The draw ceremony is underway here in sunny Monaco!
Not long to go here in Monaco
A little over half an hour to go
There will be some nervous club chiefs in the house for this one no doubt.
Ones to avoid
Whilst all eyes will naturally be on Sevilla, Arsenal, Chelsea and the Champions League drop-outs, there are some potential banana skins hidden away in the other pots. European heavyweights AC Milan find themselves in pot two, along with Celtic and last season's beaten finalists Marseille. Meanwhile, pot three contains Real Betis and RB Leipzig.
Where is the final?
Azerbaijan will host this season's showpiece event, with the final set for Wednesday May 29 at the Olympic Stadium in Baku.
When does the competition get underway?
The first round of group stage fixtures will take place on September 20, with the final matchday of the round coming on December 13.
Everything you need to know
The 42 entrants to this season's competition have been split into four seeding pots, with one side from each pot to make up each of the 12 groups.
The pot seedings have been based on the club coefficients from the last five years.
As in the Champions League, clubs from the same country cannot play each other at this stage, whilst teams from Russia and Ukraine may also not be drawn together.
Whatsmore, for countries with two or more representatives, clubs have been paired together to ensure that the games involving those teams are split across the two different kick-off times (18:55 CET and 21:00 CET).
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
Again, the pairing system works the same as it did for the Champions League draw, so if one of the paired sides is drawn in group A, B, C, D, E or F, the other will automatically be placed in group G, H, I, J, K or L.
The pots for the draw are as follows:
Pot 1
Sevilla (ESP) 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
Hello and welcome!
No fewer than 48 teams are waiting to discover their fate in today's Europa League draw, but who will be smiling and who will be ruing their luck come the end of the draw gala?
Join us for live text updates of the 2018/19 Europa League group stage draw. The draw is due to take place at 13:00 CET.