Europa Conference League draw LIVE: West Ham learn group stage opponents

Manchester United have drawn Spanish side Real Sociedad, Moldovan champions Sheriff and Cypriot minnows Omonia in the Europa League group stages, meanwhile, Arsenal have drawn PSV Eindhoven, Bodø/Glimt and FC Zurich.

Winners of the competition in 2017, United are back in the Europa League having failed to qualify for the Champions League last season. On their last tournament appearance in 2020/21, they reached the final under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but lost to Villarreal on penalties in Gdasnk.

In terms of the Gunners’ opponents, Dutch side PSV, who are managed by former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, were knocked out by Rangers in the Champions League play-offs.

Van Nistelrooy was involved in several high-tempered clashes with Arsenal during his playing career, notably with former Gunners defender Martin Keown, when the club’s rivalry with Manchester United was at its peak.

The Europa League draw will be followed by the Conference League draw, which will feature West Ham following their victory over Viborg in the play-offs. Follow live updates from the Europa Conference League draw, below:

Europa Conference League group stage draw

• The Europa Conference League draw, which includes West Ham, takes place at 1.30pm BST in Istanbul

• West Ham are in Pot 1 after reaching the Europa League semi-finals last season

• The Europa League group stage draw was conducted beforehand

• Arsenal drawn in a group with PSV, Bodø/Glimt and FC Zurich

• Man Utd to face Real Sociedad, Sheriff Tiraspol and Omonia

Europa Conference League draw

13:19 , Michael Jones

Coming up in just over 10 minutes time is the draw for Uefa’s third European tournament, the Europa Conference League. The English interest lies in Pot 1 where West Ham are situated.

Here’s who else is in the draw

Pot 1: Villarreal, Basel, Slavia Praha, AZ Alkmaar, Gent, İstanbul Başakşehir, Partizan, West Ham

Pot 2: CFR Cluj, Molde, FCSB, Fiorentina, Köln, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, Apollon Limassol, Slovan Bratislava

Pot 3: Nice, Anderlecht, Žalgiris Vilnius, Austria Wien, Hearts, Shamrock Rovers, Sivasspor, Vaduz

Pot 4: Dnipro-1, Lech Poznań , Slovácko, Silkeborg, Djurgården, Pyunik, RFS, Ballkani

When is Europa Conference League draw?

13:06 , Michael Jones

The journey to the Fortuna Arena in Prague begins in this week’s Europa Conference League.

Roma won the inaugural edition of the competition, which also secured qualification for this season’s Europa League in addition to the trophy after Nicolo Zaniolo’s winner over Feyenoord.

The draw will see 32 teams drawn into eight groups of four, made up of 22 Europa Conference League play-off winners and 10 sides dropping down from Europa League play-offs.

David Moyes will hope to take West Ham as far as possible in pursuit of silverware, after the heartache in the Europa League last season against Frankfurt.

When is Europa Conference League draw?

Europa League full draw

12:58 , Michael Jones

Here’s another look at the completed groups, neatly organised into a fancy graphic:

Sheriff to face Man Utd

12:54 , Michael Jones

Sheriff are in the group stage of the Europa League for the fifth time after beating Pyunik 3-2 on penalties following two goalless draws in qualifying.

The Moldovan league leaders are unbeaten domestically and will be inspired by a remarkable victory last season over eventual winner Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Last year’s campaign saw them become the first team from their country to take part in the Champions League group stage.

Arsenal’s Europa League draw: Gunners to face PSV, Bodø/Glimt and FC Zurich in group stage

12:45 , Michael Jones

Arsenal have drawn PSV Eindhoven, Bodø/Glimt and FC Zurich in the Europa League group stages.

Dutch side PSV, who are managed by former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, were knocked out by Rangers in the Champions League play-offs.

They are joined in Group A by the Norwegian champions Bodø/Glimt, who defeated Jose Mourinho’s Roma in the Europa Conference League group stages last season and were later knocked out by the Italian side in the quarter-finals, as well as the Swiss side FC Zurich.

Arsenal to face PSV, Bodø/Glimt and FC Zurich in Europa League group stage

Manchester United draw Sociedad, Sheriff and Omonoia in Europa League group stage

12:42 , Michael Jones

Manchester United have drawn Spanish side Real Sociedad, Moldovan champions Sheriff and Cypriot minnows Omonia in the Europa League group stages.

Winners of the competition in 2017, United are back in the Europa League having failed to qualify for the Champions League last season.

On their last tournament appearance in 2020/21, they reached the final under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but lost to Villarreal on penalties in Gdasnk.

Manchester United draw Sociedad, Sheriff and Omonoia in Europa League group stage

Europa League draw

12:38 , Michael Jones

Of the two English side taking part in the Europa League group stages this term Arsenal will be the happier bunch. PSV Eindhoven will be tough but the Gunners will believe they have enough quality to get past Bodø/Glimt and FC Zürich.

Manchester United’s campaign will be a whole lot harder. Real Sociedad are always difficult customers and who can forget Sheriff Tiraspol’s shock victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League last season?

Erik ten Hag’s got some thinking and planning to do to negoiate this group.

Europa League draw

12:35 , Michael Jones

Finally, here is the group stage draw in full:

Group A – Arsenal, PSV Eindhoven, Bodø/Glimt, FC Zürich

Group B - Dynamo Kyiv, Rennes, Fenerbahçe, AEK Larnaca

Group C – Roma, Lodogorets, Real Betis, HJK Helsinki

Group D - SC Braga, Malmo, Union Berlin, Union Saint-Gilloise

Group E - Manchester United, Real Sociedad, Sheriff Tiraspol, Omonoia

Group F – Lazio, Feyenoord, Midtjylland, Sturm Graz

Group G – Olympiacos, Qarabağ, Freiburg, Nantes

Group H - Crvena Zvezda, Monaco, Ferencváros, Trabzonspor

Europa League draw

12:32 , Michael Jones

Arsenal’s group is complete with Sweden’s FC Zürich whilst Manchester United get Omonoia!

Europa League draw

12:32 , Michael Jones

Here’s how it looks after three pots, just one more set of eight to go:

Group A – Arsenal, PSV Eindhoven, Bodø/Glimt

Group B - Dynamo Kyiv, Rennes, Fenerbahçe

Group C – Roma, Lodogorets, Real Betis

Group D - SC Braga, Malmo, Union Berlin

Group E - Manchester United, Real Sociedad, Sheriff Tiraspol

Group F – Lazio, Feyenoord, Midtjylland

Group G – Olympiacos, Qarabağ, Freiburg

Group H - Crvena Zvezda, Monaco, Ferencváros

Europa League draw

12:30 , Michael Jones

Fenerbahçe are in Group B with Rennes and Dynamo Kyiv whilst Real Betis are in Group C with Ludogorets and Roma.

Midtjylland are in Group F with Feyenoord and Lazio.

Sheriff Tiraspol are in Group E with Manchester United and Real Sociedad.

Europa League draw

12:29 , Michael Jones

Norway’s Bodø/Glimt are drawn into Group A alongside Arsenal and PSV Eindhoven. The Gunners will be pleased with that opponent.

Europa League draw

12:27 , Michael Jones

After two pots here’s how the groups look:

Group A – Arsenal, PSV Eindhoven

Group B - Dynamo Kyiv, Rennes

Group C – Roma, Lodogorets

Group D - SC Braga, Malmo

Group E - Manchester United, Real Sociedad

Group F – Lazio, Feyenoord

Group G – Olympiacos, Qarabağ

Group H - Crvena Zvezda, Monaco

Europa League draw

12:26 , Michael Jones

Manchester United get Real Sociedad! That’s a tricky draw already.

Feyenoord join Lazio in Group F, Qarabağ are put in Group G and Monaco are in Group H.

Europa League draw

12:24 , Michael Jones

Rennes join Dynamo Kyiv in Group B with Ludogorets heading into Group C alongside Roma.

Malmo are out next and head into Group D with Braga.

Europa League draw

12:22 , Michael Jones

Now the draw gets interesting as we find out who the opponents will be for each team.

PSV Eindhoven join Arsenal in Group A.

Europa League draw

12:21 , Michael Jones

Pot 1 is done. Here’s how the groups are shaping up.

Group A - Arsenal

Group B - Dynamo Kyiv

Group C - Roma

Group D - SC Braga

Group E - Manchester United

Group F - Lazio

Group G - Olympiacos

Group H - Crvena Zvezda

Europa League draw

12:18 , Michael Jones

32 teams to be drawn out of the pots. We start with Pot 1 and the first team out is Arsenal!

They go straight into group A.

Europa League draw

12:16 , Michael Jones

Charly Korbel and Zoltan Gera are also going to be picking out the balls.

Uefa’s Deputy General Secretary Giorgio Marchetti heads onto the stage, waffles for a bit, wishes all the team’s good luck then says the draw can finally start.

We’re now going through the complicated draw instructions.

Europa League draw

12:11 , Michael Jones

The final for this season’s Europa League will be played at the Puskas Arena in Budapest. Which teams will be playing in the showpiece?

After a chat with Charly Korbel, Zoltan Gera is the next former player welcomed onto the stage.

Europa League draw

12:06 , Michael Jones

The teams in Pot 1 will be drawn out first which include both Arsenal and Manchester United. Here’s a reminder of the Pot 1 teams:

Roma (ITA)

Manchester United (ENG)

Arsenal (ENG)

Lazio (ITA)

Braga (POR)

Crvena Zvezda (SRB)

Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)

Olympiacos (GRE)

Karl-Heinz ‘Charly’ Korbel is welcomed onto the stage and he brings the Europa League trophy with him.

Here we go

12:04 , Michael Jones

The draw for the 2022/23 Europa League is about to get started. First up there is a video montage of last season’s best moments.

367 goals were scored in this competition last season - averaging one every 34 minutes - before Eintracht Frankfurt defeated Rangers in the final.

Casemiro ready to go

12:00 , Michael Jones

Manchester United’s new signing Casemiro is ready to hit the ground running at Old Trafford and is looking forward to helping the club get back to winning trophies.

Is a Europa League medal in his future this season?

Can Man Utd end their drought?

11:56 , Michael Jones

It’s been five years since Manchester United last won a trophy. They defeated Ajax 2-0 in this competition back in 2017 under then manager Jose Mourinho.

The closest they’ve come to winning a trophy since was again in the Europa League when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Red Devils lost 11-10 on penalties to Villarreal in 2021.

Is this the year they finally get back to lifting silverware?

Which teams are paired?

11:53 , Michael Jones

Clubs that play in the same domestic leagues are paired so that they avoid each other and also play at different times during the group stages.

For the Europa League draw these are the paired clubs:

Roma & Lazio

Man United & Arsenal

Feyenoord & PSV Eindhoven

Rennes & Monaco

Real Sociedad & Real Betis

Union Berlin & Freiburg

Fenerbahçe & Trabzonspor

AEK Larnaca & Omonoia

Third time lucky for Arsenal?

11:50 , Michael Jones

Arsenal are looking to go one better this years after twice being runners-up in the Europa League.

Their first run to the final ended with a 4-1 loss on penalties to Galatasaray following a goalless draw in 2000 and the second time they reached the final saw them lose 4-1 to Chelsea in Baku in 2019 under former boss Unai Emery.

What happens in the group stage?

11:45 , Michael Jones

Once all the teams have been allocated one of the eight available groups they will face each of the other three clubs in their section twice.

The group winners automatically advance to the next round.

The group runners-up progress to the knockout stage play-off round, where they will face one of eight teams transferring from the Champions League having finished third in their groups.

The third-placed teams move into to the Europa Conference League, where they will face the group runners-up from that competition in the knockout round play-offs.

How the draw works

11:40 , Michael Jones

The draws for Uefa competitions are unnecessarily complicated considering all it takes is to pull names out of a hat. So here’s a breakdown of how today’s Europa League draw will work:

For the group stage draw, the 32 clubs involved are seeded in four pots of eight.

The first pot comprises the Europa Conference League winners (Roma) and the top seven clubs in the club coefficient rankings. The second group has the next eight clubs in the rankings, and so on for groups 3 and 4.

There are also paired clubs from the same association and to ensure these teams kick off at different times the eight groups will be distinguished by colour: groups A to D will be red and groups E to H blue.

When a paired club is pulled out, for example, into a red group (A, B, C or D), the other paired club – once it has been drawn – will automatically be assigned to one of the four blue groups (E, F, G or H).

The matches in the red groups and the blue groups will be at alternate kick-off times during the group stages (17:45 or 20:00 BST).

What time is the Europa League draw today?

11:35 , Michael Jones

The Europa League draw takes place this afternoon with both Arsenal and Manchester United set to learn their group stage opponents.

Eintracht Frankfurt were the winners last season, beating Rangers in the final, while Jose Mourinho’s Roma will be among the favourites after winning the Conference League.

Arsenal are back in European competition after a one-year absence, with Mikel Arteta’s side narrowly missing out on Champions League qualification to rivals Tottenham.

United will feature in the Europa League under Erik ten Hag. They were defeated in the final by Villarreal two seasons ago, and also reached the semi-finals the previous year.

What time is the Europa League draw today?

Europa League dates

11:30 , Michael Jones

The Europa League group stage will get underway in less than a fortnight and it’s full steam ahead from there as the group stage will be completed before the World Cup in November.

Here’s a full list of the key dates in this year’s competition.

Key Dates

Group stage

Matchday 1: 8 September 2022

Matchday 2: 15 September 2022

Matchday 3: 6 October 2022

Matchday 4: 13 October 2022

Matchday 5: 27 October 2022

Matchday 6: 3 November 2022

Knockout phase

Knockout round play-offs: 16 & 23 February 2023

Round of 16: 9 & 16 March 2023

Quarter-finals: 13 & 20 April 2023

Semi-finals: 11 & 18 May 2023

Final: 7 June 2023

West Ham cruise past Viborg and into Europa Conference League group stage

11:25 , Luke Baker

After the Europa League draw (which is scheduled to get underway at 12pm), there will be the Europa Conference League draw. West Ham ensured their presence after beating Viborg in the play-offs last night.

The Hammers rediscovered their goalscoring touch as they booked another European tour with a 3-0 win. David Moyes’ side, without a point or a goal after three matches in the Premier League, ran out comfortable 6-1 winners on aggregate over the two legs of their qualifying play-off.

Italy striker Gianluca Scamacca, the £30million signing from Sassuolo, opened the scoring midway through the first half with his second goal in two European appearances.

Said Benrahma and Tomas Soucek also found the net after the break to put the seal on an ultimately comfortable evening in front of 1,000 noisy travelling fans in Denmark.

West Ham cruise past Viborg and into Europa Conference League group stage

Who is in Pot 4 for the Europa League group stage draw?

11:10 , Luke Baker

Finally, Pot 4 contains central European teams such as Zürich and Sturm Graz as well as a pair of Cypriot teams in the form of AEK Larnaca and Omonoia.

Nantes are the Ligue 1 representatives, Belgium’s Union Saint-Gilloise have dropped into the Europa League after being defeated by Rangers in Champions League qualifying and a trip to Trabzonspor in Turkey certainly won’t be easy.

Pot 4

Nantes (FRA)

HJK Helsinki (FIN)

Sturm Graz (AUT)

AEK Larnaca (CYP)

Omonoia (CYP)

Zürich (SUI)

Saint-Gilloise (BEL)

Trabzonspor (TUR)

Who is in Pot 3 for the Europa League group stage draw?

10:55 , Luke Baker

Two German clubs reside in Pot 3, with Union Berlin and Freiburg the teams in question, while Rel Betis provide Spanish representation.

Long trips to Turkey (Fenerbahce), Hungary (Ferencváros) or Moldova (Sheriff) are an option, as is Scandinavia thanks to the presence of Midtjylland and Bodø/Glimt.

Pot 3

Sheriff (MDA)

Real Betis (ESP)

Midtjylland (DEN)

Bodø/Glimt (NOR)

Ferencváros (HUN)

Union Berlin (GER)

Freiburg (GER)

Fenerbahçe (TUR)

Who is in Pot 2 for the Europa League group stage draw?

10:40 , Luke Baker

Pot 2 sees multiple representatives from both Netherlands and France with Feyenoord, PSV Eindhoven, Rennes and Monaco providing potentially shorter trips but tougher matches should the English clubs be drawn against them.

Real Sociedad will also be no pushovers, while you can’t imagine that Erik ten Hag or Mikel Arteta would relish a Thursday night trip to Azerbaijan, even if Qarabag are one of the weaker Pot 2 sides on paper. Malmo and Ludogorets may provide a nice compromise between distance and on-pitch quality from this pot.

Pot 2

Feyenoord (NED)

Rennes (FRA)

PSV Eindhoven (NED)

Monaco (FRA)

Real Sociedad (ESP)

Qarabağ (AZE)

Malmö (SWE)

Ludogorets (BUL)

Who is in Pot 1 for the Europa League group stage draw?

10:25 , Luke Baker

As with the Champions League draw yesterday, the Europa League group stage draw sees teams divided into four pots, with one team from each pot making up a group. Teams from the same country cannot be drawn together.

Pot 1 is where a lot of the big-hitters in this year’s competition reside. The two Premier League representatives in the draw - Manchester United and Arsenal - are in this pot, as are the two Serie A teams from Rome in the form of Roma and Lazio. The likes of Crvena Zvezda and Dynamo Kyiv, who won’t be playing their home game in Kyiv due to the war in Ukraine, bring an Eastern European flavour to the pot.

Pot 1

Roma (ITA)

Manchester United (ENG)

Arsenal (ENG)

Lazio (ITA)

Braga (POR)

Crvena Zvezda (SRB)

Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)

Olympiacos (GRE)

When is the Europa League draw and how can I watch?

10:10 , Luke Baker

The Europa League draw will take place from 12pm BST today in Istanbul, Turkey - the same location for yesterday’s Champions League group stage draw.

Fans will be able to watch the event on BT Sport and an online stream will be available through the broadcaster’s YouTube channel. Alternatively, you can watch on UEFA’s website or YouTube channel

When is the Europa Conference League draw?

09:47 , Luke Baker

The journey to the Fortuna Arena in Prague begins in this week’s Europa Conference League.

Roma won the inaugural edition of the competition, which also secured qualification for this season’s Europa League in addition to the trophy after Nicolo Zaniolo’s winner over Feyenoord.

The draw will see 32 teams drawn into eight groups of four, made up of 22 Europa Conference League play-off winners and 10 sides dropping down from Europa League play-offs.

David Moyes will hope to take West Ham as far as possible in pursuit of silverware, after the heartache in the Europa League last season against Frankfurt.

Here’s all you need to know about the draw, including what teams will play this season and which pots they have been designated in.

When is Europa Conference League draw?

What time is the Europa League draw today?

09:43 , Luke Baker

The Europa League draw takes place this afternoon with both Arsenal and Manchester United set to learn their group stage opponents.

Eintracht Frankfurt were the winners last season, beating Rangers in the final, while Jose Mourinho’s Roma will be among the favourites after winning the Conference League.

Arsenal are back in European competition after a one-year absence, with Mikel Arteta’s side narrowly missing out on Champions League qualification to rivals Tottenham.

United will feature in the Europa League under Erik ten Hag. They were defeated in the final by Villarreal two seasons ago, and also reached the semi-finals the previous year.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the Europa League draw today.

What time is the Europa League draw today?

Europa League group stage draw

09:36 , Luke Baker

Welcome to The Independent’s live blog of the Europa League group stage draw. Stick with us for updates as Manchester United and Arsenal learn their opponents and fixtures for this season’s competition. The Premier League clubs are among the top seeds ahead of the draw, with both reaching the latter stages of the tournament in recent years.

Arsenal are back in European competition after a one-year absence while United return to the Europa League for the first time since being defeated in the final by Villarreal two seasons ago. They will be looking to emulate West Ham’s run last campaign, as well as Rangers - who reached the final only to be defeated by Eintracht Frankfurt on penalties.

United and Arsenal will be among the favourites to win the tournament, as well as Jose Mourinho’s Roma and the likes of PSV Eindhoven, and Monaco.

The Europa League draw will be followed by the Conference League draw, which will feature West Ham following their victory over Viborg in the play-offs.