The UEFA Europa League group stage draw took place on August 31, and the field of 48 is set!
All 48 clubs were seeded and the balls were drawn to decide placement for the entirety of group stage.
For the 2018/19 Europa League campaign, 48 clubs were split into POTS and there were plenty of conditions this year that made the draw a little difficult. I’ll explain some of that along with some other things you should be aware of as well. Let me first hit you with the final Europa League group stage draw and, yes, it goes all the way to Group L!
Group A
Bayer Leverkusen – Zurich – Ludogorets Razgrad – AEK Larnaca
Group B
RB Leipzig – Rosenborg – Red Bull Salzburg – Celtic
Group C
Zenit Saint Petersburg – Bordeaux – Copenhagen – Slavia Prague
Group D
Fenerbahçe – Anderlecht – Dinamo Zagreb – Spartak Trnava
Group E
Arsenal – Sporting CP – Vorskla Poltava – Qarabağ
Group F
AC Milan – Real Betis – F91 Dudelange – Olympiacos
Group G
Villareal – Rangers – Spartak Moscow – Rapid Vienna
Group H
Eintracht Frankfurt – Lazio – Marseille – Apollon Limassol
Group I
Beşiktaş – Malmo FF – Genk – Sarpsborg
Group J
Sevilla – Krasnodar – Standard Liège – Akhisarspor
Group K
Dynamo Kyiv – Astana – Rennes – Jablonec
Group L
Chelsea – BATE Borisov – POAK – MOL Vidi
AEK Larnaca will not be playing their home matches at AEK Arena as they usually do for league play. Instead, they will be hosting their three group A opponents at GSP Stadium in Nicosia, Cyprus.
F91 Dudelange will be hosting their home matches at Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City. Their Stade Jos Nosbaum can barely hold 3,000 fans, and we all know that the Spaniards, Italians and Greeks certainly like to bring travelling fans.
MOL Vidi will be switching over to Groupama Arena in Budapest, moving from their normal Sóstói Stadion in Székesfehérvár, Hungary. Their new home is still under construction and that situation is a bit of mess actually. Hopefully, they can get that venue together for the 2019 campaign.
Also, be aware of the first tie-breaking scenario when clubs finish together in the table. Head-to-head goals scored between the two matches the clubs played in group stage will be the first scenario. The away goals tie-breaker will only factor in if both teams have scored equal goals against each other in group play. (Example: results such as 1 – 1 and 2 – 2 would give the away club who scored two goals the advantage.)
The top two clubs from each group will move on to the next round of 32 and that doesn’t add up for a reason. Champions League has 8 groups of 4 playing their group stage and all 8 third-place clubs will join the 24 that advance.
Another thing we are going to need is the lines on who is expected to win the Europa League trophy. Two English sides lead the way from the oddsmakers at Bwin, which is usually where I get my lines.
Spanish side Sevilla who, if you recall, took 3 Europa League titles in succession recently, is listed at +1200. As you get past the top four clubs listed, everyone really starts to swim together.
Lazio, Leipzig, Leverkusen, AC Milan and Marseille are all mixed in at +2000, give or take a few bucks.
