Europa League draw LIVE: UK start time, pots, live stream FREE, TV channel with Arsenal and Tottenham in group stages
THE Europa League is back with a bang for this brand new, bizarre season.
A total of 48 teams go into the hat for the group stage draw, with sides from all over Europe dreaming of reaching the final in Gdansk.
Five British teams are in the hat, with Leicester, Arsenal, Tottenham, Celtic and Rangers all eager to see who they draw.
When is the Europa League group stage draw?
- The draw will be held TODAY October 2.
- Things get underway at midday BST.
- It takes place in Nyon, Switzerland at Uefa's HQ – but is behind-closed-doors and without an audience due to the ongoing pandemic.
Which TV channel and live stream can I watch it on?
You can catch the draw in full on BT Sport 1 here in the UK.
BT customers can also download the app to stream wherever they are.
If you're not a BT subscriber, Uefa will be streaming the draw live on their official website.
Here on SunSport we'll also be running a dedicated live blog so you don't miss any of the ties as they come out of the hat.
Pots and teams
Pot 1
- Arsenal
- Tottenham
- Roma
- Napoli
- Benfica
- Bayer Leverkusen
- Villarreal
- CSKA Moscow
- Sporting Braga
- Gent
- PSV Eindhoven
- Celtic
Pot 2
- Dinamo Zagreb
- Sparta Prague
- Slavia Prague
- Ludogorets
- Young Boys
- Red Star Belgrade
- Rapid Vienna
- Leicester
- Qarabag
- PAOK
- Standard Liege
- Real Sociedad
Pot 3
- Granada
- AC Milan
- AZ Alkmaar
- Feyenoord
- AEK Athens
- Rangers
- Maccabi Tel-Aviv
- Molde
- Hoffenheim
- LASK
- Hapoel Beer-Sheva
- CFR Cluj
Pot 4
- Zorya Luhansk
- Nice
- Lille
- Rijeka
- Dundalk
- Slovan Liberec
- Royal Antwerp
- Lech Poznan
- Sivasspor
- Wolfsberger
- Omonia Nicosia
- CSKA Sofia
- <a href='http://www.thesun.co.uk/sport' rel='external nofollow ugc' class='url'>Alex Terrell</a>
WHAT TO REMEMBER
Teams from two countries won't be drawn in the same group.
And as with the Champions League draw, sides from Russia and Ukraine will be kept apart for political reasons.
- <a href='http://www.thesun.co.uk/sport' rel='external nofollow ugc' class='url'>Alex Terrell</a>
POT PHWOARRR!
Look at this lovely lot in Pot 4.
Dundalk vs anyone from England or Scotland has the makings of a belter.
Zorya Luhansk, Nice, Lille, Rijeka, Dundalk, Slovan Liberec, Royal Antwerp, Lech Poznan, Sivasspor, Wolfsberger, Omonia Nicosia, CSKA Sofia.
- <a href='http://www.thesun.co.uk/sport' rel='external nofollow ugc' class='url'>Alex Terrell</a>
EASY THREESY – POT TROIS
These are the stars of Pot 3 – note that LASK are considered to have the same European pedigree as AC Milan, which is galling for at least one of those clubs.
Granada, AC Milan, AZ Alkmaar, Feyenoord, AEK Athens, Rangers, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Molde, Hoffenheim, LASK, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, CFR Cluj
- <a href='http://www.thesun.co.uk/sport' rel='external nofollow ugc' class='url'>Alex Terrell</a>
POT TO TROT – IT'S POT TWO
Not quite the cream of the crop, but not the grotty leftovers either… iiiiittttsss Pot number twooooo.
Dinamo Zagreb, Sparta Prague, Slavia Prague, Ludogorets, Young Boys, Red Star Belgrade, Rapid Vienna, Leicester, Qarabag, PAOK, Standard Liege, Real Sociedad
- <a href='http://www.thesun.co.uk/sport' rel='external nofollow ugc' class='url'>Alex Terrell</a>
HERE IS POT 1
These are the 12 top-seeded teams in the competition:
Arsenal, Tottenham, Roma, Napoli, Benfica, Bayer Leverkusen, Villarreal, CSKA Moscow, Sporting Braga, Gent, PSV Eindhoven, Celtic
- <a href='http://www.thesun.co.uk/sport' rel='external nofollow ugc' class='url'>Alex Terrell</a>
GOING POTTY
As with the Champions League draw, there are four pots for the Europa League as well, each with 12 teams in instead of 8.
They will then be drawn in groups A to L.
- <a href='http://www.thesun.co.uk/sport' rel='external nofollow ugc' class='url'>Alex Terrell</a>
IT'S A BALL STIRRER
The Europa League draw is HERE.
Arsenal, Tottenham, Leicester, Celtic and Rangers are all in the hat for the 48-team draw being held in Nyon this afternoon.
But here is how they got there.
AC Milan reached the Europa League group stage after a nervy 9-8 penalty shootout win over Portuguese club Rio Ave on Thursday, having netted a fortunate last-gasp equalizer in extra time.
Milan trailed 2-1 in extra time until Toni Borevkovic gave away a penalty in the 121st minute with a careless handball, allowing Hakan Calhanoglu to level from the spot.
Rio Ave then had three chances to win the penalty shootout but missed each time, before Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma made the decisive save to send his team through.
The shootout featured 24 penalties in total, with both goalkeepers sending their efforts over the bar.
Tottenham had no such troubles as Harry Kane scored his first hat trick of the season in a 7-2 win over Maccabi Haifa.
However, last year’s quarterfinalist Basel and German club Wolfsburg were both eliminated.
Rio Ave also looked set to spring an upset after Gelson gave the Portuguese club the lead in extra time.
However, Borevkovic inexplicably downed a high ball into the area with his hand to give away a penalty with just seconds left getting his second yellow card in the process.
In the shootout, Nelson Monte first had a chance to win it for Rio Ave with the score at 7-7, but his penalty hit the left post and then rolled across the goal-line before hitting the other post and going out.
After Donnarumma sent his penalty over the bar at 8-8, his counterpart Pawel Kieszek did the same. And when Chico Geraldes was given a third chance to win it for the Portuguese side, his effort hit the right post.
Tottenham's win came exactly a year to the day after losing 7-2 to Bayern Munich at home in the Champion’s League group stage
Kane opened the scoring after just two minutes from close range, and added two more in the second half.
Giovani Lo Celso netted two goals in the span of three first-half minutes and Lucas Moura added one for Tottenham before the break. Dele Alli finished off the rout from the penalty spot in injury time.
Tjaronn Chery and Nikita Rukavytsya scored for Haifa.
The single-leg qualifying games have been played in empty stadiums and on a tight schedule in the pandemic-delayed season.
Serbias Red Star Belgrade advanced by beating Ararat-Armenia 2-1 in Nicosia. The game was moved by Uefa from Armenias capital of Yerevan to neutral Cyprus amid the countrys escalating conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan over over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijans Qarabag qualified after a 3-0 away win at Legia in Poland.
Scottish powerhouses Celtic and Rangers both secured a place in Europa League for third straight season.
Forward Odsonne Edouard netted the lone goal for Celtic at Sarajevo while Rangers knocked out Turkeys Galatasaray 2-1 at Ibrox Stadium.
Basel was upset 3-1 at home by CSKA-Sofia, while Wolfsburg lost 2-1 at Greece's AEK.
Spains Granada, Switzerlands Young Boys, Dutch side PSV Eindhoven, Croatia's Dinamo Zagreb, Belgiums Standard Liege, Irelands Dundalk and Poland's Lech were also among the 21 clubs to qualify from the playoffs.
The 48-team draw for the group stage is scheduled for Friday.
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