The draw for the 2020/21 Europa League competition was made at UEFA headquarters in Switzerland today.
Although sometimes seen as second best to the Champions League, after some of the incredible games seen last season, this definitely isn’t the case.
It seems like only yesterday that Sevilla edged out Inter Milan 3-2 in an intense final in Cologne. Well, it was only 41 days ago.
Both of last season’s finalists earnt their spot in the Champions League this season, so were absent from the draw.
However, with Arsenal, Leicester and Tottenham making up the English league’s representation, eyes were on pots one and two to see who would fare best in the draw against some tough European opposition.
The competition will be a key opportunity for all English sides involved, with Jose Mourinho looking to win his first silverware as Tottenham manager, Leicester looking to make a claim as a top European club, and Mikel Arteta just hoping to win a trophy that doesn’t have “FA” written on it.
Although fans being absent from stadiums will lead to us missing out on some magical European atmospheres, some supporters may be grateful they’ve been saved a rather unconventional tour of some of Europe’s more obscure towns and cities.
After Romelu Lukaku was awarded player of last season’s tournament, the draw was underway to start the journey to the final on May 26, 2021 in Gdańsk.
Here are the groups in full.
Group A: Roma, Young Boys, Cluj, CSKA Sofia
Group B: Arsenal, Rapid Vienna, Molde, Dundalk
Group C: Bayer Leverkusen, Slavia Prague, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, Nice
Group D: Benfica, Standard Liege, Rangers, Lech Poznan
Group E: PSV Eindhoven, PAOK, Granada, Omonia
Group F: Napoli, Real Sociedad, AZ Alkmaar, HNK Rijeka
Group G: Braga, Leicester, AEK Athens, Zorya Luhansk
Group H: Celtic, Sparta Prague, AC Milan, Lille
Group I: Villarreal, Qarabag, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Sivasspor
Group J: Tottenham, Ludogorets, LASK, Antwerp
Group K: CSKA Moscow, Dinamo Zagreb, Feyenoord, Wolfsberger
Group L: Gent, Red Star Belgrade, Hoffenheim, Slovan Liberec