Liverpool will find their opponents for their first Europa League campaign since reaching the 2016 final on Friday. This is who they could face.
The Reds were kicked out of the Champions League last season for the first time in seven years after getting used to dining at the top of European football.
Jurgen Klopp reached three Champions League finals between 2018 and 2022 but has been relegated to Thursday Night Football for the upcoming European campaign. Despite being relegated for the 2023/24 season, Liverpool still have a number of high-profile clubs to face as they try to reach the knockout stages of the competition.
The groups consist of teams from each of the four banks and Liverpool cannot meet another English side until the later rounds.
The Reds are the highest-ranked team in the competition and therefore also in first place in the pot. Here’s a look at who we could face in this season’s Europa League group stages.
Groups of Europa League
Here are the 32 teams of the Europa League. Liverpool are drawn to either side of pots two, three and four. They cannot be drawn with Brighton, 23 possible opponents will be drawn on Friday.
Bank 1: Liverpool, West Ham, Roma, Villarreal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atalanta, Ajax, Rangers
Pledge 2: Sporting CP, Slavia Praha, Rennes, Olympiakos, Real Betis, Marseille, Qarabag
Pot 2 or 3: Molde
Promise 3: Brighton, Sheriff Tiraspol, Union Saint-Gilloise, SC Freiburg, Sparta Praha, Maccabi Haifa, Sturm Graz
Pot 3 or 4: Toulouse
Pot 4: AEK Athens, TSC, Servette, Panathinaikos, Rakow Czestochowa, Limassol
TBC: BK Hacken, CALC
When and where will the draw take place?
The draw will take place in Monaco on Friday 1 September at 12:00 (BST).
It will also be broadcast live on the UEFA website and on TNT Sports 1.
Group stage schedule
1st battle day: September 21st
2nd working day: October 5th
Game 3: October 26
4th battle day: November 9th
5th battle day: November 30th
6th battle day: December 14th
The play-offs then start in February with the knockout round, which Liverpool could skip if they top their group. The final will be played in Dublin on May 22, with Liverpool hoping to go one better than they did in Basel eight years ago.
