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The 2021/22 UEFA Europa League kicks off next week with 32 teams aiming for the final in Sevilla.
UEFA.com selects foolproof headliners for Matchday 1.
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Wednesday September 15th
Group C: Spartak Moskva vs Legia Warszawa (4.30 p.m. CET)
Thursday September 16
group A: Rangers vs Lyon (9:00 p.m. CET), Brøndby vs Sparta Praha (9:00 p.m. CET)
Group B: PSV Eindhoven vs Real Sociedad (9:00 p.m. CET), Monaco vs Sturm Graz (9:00 p.m. CET)
Group C: Leicester vs Napoli (9:00 p.m. CET)
Group D: Olympiacos vs Royal Antwerp (9:00 p.m. CET), Eintracht Frankfurt vs Fenerbahçe (9:00 p.m. CET)
Group E: Galatasaray vs Lazio (6:45 p.m. CET), Lokomotiv Moskva vs Marseille (6:45 p.m. CET)
Group F: Midtjylland vs Ludogorets (6:45 p.m. CET), Crvena zvezda vs Braga (6:45 p.m. CET)
Group G: Leverkusen vs Ferencváros (6:45 p.m. CET), Real Betis vs Celtic (6:45 p.m. CET)
Group H: GNK Dinamo vs West Ham (6:45 p.m. CET), Rapid Wien vs Genk (6:45 p.m. CET)
What should you watch out for?
Group (s) of death?
The new UEFA Europa League format has kept its promise of securing competitive sections, with Group G’s double opener – Leverkusen against Ferencváros and Real Betis against Celtic – a measure of what could be the most draw. difficult this season. Let us also think of Lokomotiv Moskva in Group E where the Railwaymen are the only team not to have won a European trophy; the three-time winners of the Russian title will face Marseille, European champion 1992/93, with Lazio, winner of the European Cup Winners’ Cup 1998/99 and Galatasaray, winner of the UEFA Cup 1999/2000.
Rangers vs Lyon a recipe for drama
Expect the unexpected when the Rangers host Lyon; The Light Blues beat France 3-0 at France’s former Gerland stadium in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League group stage, before losing at home by the same score in the match return, Karim Benzema scoring twice. In the new format, only the best teams from each group advance to the round of 16, with runners-up facing one of the UEFA Champions League third teams in the new round of 16. Lyon sporting director Juninho Pernambucano said: “Our task is even more difficult now that only the group winner qualifies directly. It is important that we start well.”
Fenerbahçe welcome to the Eintracht
Eintracht Frankfurt has some of Germany’s most passionate supporters, so they’ll have a feel for the vibe to expect when Fenerbahçe comes. Not only does the city of Frankfurt have a large Turkish community, visitors can also field a famous German international of Turkish origin, their new captain Mesut Özil. Oliver Glasner’s men can look forward to another boisterous night on Matchday 4 when they visit another scorching football cauldron, Olympiacos’ Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis.
Further away?
• Legia boss CzesÅ‚aw Michniewicz has red days in pencil for Matchday 2 and 3 when his side face Leicester and then Napoli. After the draw he said: “We will face my favorite coach Brendan Rodgers from Leicester. [Last year] I was in Naples-Barcelona – I was sitting in the stadium dreaming of “playing†there one day as a coach. And the dream has come true! “
• West Ham are the 17th Premier League club to appear in the UEFA Europa League group stage. The East London team did not often qualify for Europe, but won the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1965 and reached the final of the same competition in 1976. Do they have what? it takes to be decisive in Seville?
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Key dates
Group stage
September 15/16: 1st day
September 30: 2nd day
October 20/21: 3rd day
November 4: 4th day
24/25 November: 5th day
December 9: 6th day
Knockout phase
December 13: draw for knock-offs
February 17 & 24: Knockout play-offs
February 25: Draw for the round of 16
March 10 & 17: round of 16
March 18: Draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals
April 7 & 14: Quarter-finals
April 28 & May 5: Semi-finals
May 18: Final (Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, Seville)
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