UEFA Europa League 2020-21: Arsenal, Tottenham, Napoli discover their fate; watch matches live

Established names in European football Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Napoli learnt their opponents for the 2020-21 season of the UEFA Europa League following the group stage draw on Friday.

There were no real surprises in the UEFA Europa League draw, with most of the top teams finding a place in pot 1.

The 48 participating teams have been drawn in 12 groups, with the top two sides from each group to progress to the Round of 32. They will be joined by the eight third-placed clubs from the UEFA Champions League group stage.

Finalists at the 2018-19 UEL, Arsenal, find themselves in Group B where they will take on Austrian side SK Rapid Wien, Norway’s Molde and Dundalk of Ireland, a campaign Mikel Arteta’s side should come through unscathed.

Their North-London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur have been handed an easy draw with Bulgaria’s Ludogorets, LASK from Austria and the Belgian Cup winners Royal Antwerp grouped in Group J.

Napoli, meanwhile, will be in for an entertaining run with Spanish outfit Real Sociedad trying to make life difficult for them in Group F. The Netherlands’ AZ Alkmaar and the Croatian Cup winners Rijeka FC make up the group.

The group stage matches of the UEFA Europa League will kick off on October 22.

UEFA Europa League 2020-21 groups

Group A: AS Roma, Young Boys, Cluj, CSKA Sofia

Group B: Arsenal, SK Rapid Wien, Molde, Dundalk

Group C: Bayer Leverkusen, Slavia, Hapoel Beer Sheva, Nice

Group D: Benfica, Standard Liege, Rangers, Lech

Group E: PSV Eindhoven, PAOK, Granada, Omonio

Group F: Napoli, Real Sociedad, AZ Alkmaar, Rijeka FC

Group G: Braga, Leicester City, AEK Athens, Zoryha Luhansk

Group H: Celtic, Sparta Prague, AC Milan, Lille

Group I: Villarreal, Qarabag, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Sivasspor

Group J: Tottenham Hotspurs, Ludogorets, Lask, Royal Antwerp

Group K: CSKA Moscow, Dinamo Zagreb, Feyenoord, Wolfsberger

Group L: Gent, Crvena Zvezda, Hoffenheim, Liberec

UEFA Europa League schedule

UEL group stage

Matchday 1, Thursday, October 22

Group A: Young Boys vs Roma, CSKA Sofia vs CFR Cluj

Group B: Dundalk vs Molde, Rapid Wien vs Arsenal

Group C: Leverkusen vs Nice, Hapoel Beer-Sheva vs Slavia Praha

Group D: Standard Liège vs Rangers, Lech Poznań vs Benfica

Group E: PSV Eindhoven vs Granada, PAOK vs Omonoia

Group F: Napoli vs AZ Alkmaar, Rijeka vs Real Sociedad

Group G: Braga vs AEK Athens, Leicester vs Zorya Luhansk

Group H: Celtic vs AC Milan, Sparta Praha vs LOSC Lille

Group I: Villarreal vs Sivasspor, Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Qarabağ

Group J: Tottenham vs LASK, Ludogorets vs Royal Antwerp

Group K: Dinamo Zagreb vs Feyenoord, Wolfsburg vs CSKA Moskva

Group L: Hoffenheim vs Crvena Zvezda, Slovan Liberec vs Gent

Matchday 2, Thursday, October 29

Group A: Roma vs CSKA Sofia, CFR Cluj vs Young Boys

Group B: Arsenal vs Dundalk, Molde vs Rapid Wien

Group C: Slavia Praha vs Leverkusen, Nice vs Hapoel Beer-Sheva

Group D: Benfica vs Standard Liège, Rangers vs Lech Poznań

Group E: Omonoia vs PSV Eindhoven, Granada vs PAOK

Group F: Real Sociedad vs Napoli, AZ Alkmaar vs Rijeka

Group G: AEK Athens vs Leicester, Zorya Luhansk vs Braga

Group H: AC Milan vs Sparta Praha, LOSC Lille vs Celtic

Group I: Qarabağ vs Villarreal, Sivasspor vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv

Group J: LASK vs Ludogorets, Royal Antwerp vs Tottenham

Group K: CSKA Moskva vs Dinamo Zagreb, Feyenoord vs Wolfsburg

Group L: Gent vs Hoffenheim, Crvena Zvezda vs Slovan Liberec

Matchday 3, Thursday, November 5

Group A: Roma vs CFR Cluj, Young Boys vs CSKA Sofia

Group B: Rapid Wien vs Dundalk, Arsenal vs Molde

Group C: Slavia Praha vs Nice, Hapoel Beer-Sheva vs Leverkusen

Group D: Benfica vs Rangers, Lech Poznań vs Standard Liège

Group E: PAOK vs PSV Eindhoven, Omonoia vs Granada

Group F: Real Sociedad vs AZ Alkmaar, Rijeka vs Napoli

Group G: Leicester vs Braga, Zorya Luhansk vs AEK Athens

Group H: Celtic vs Sparta Praha, AC Milan vs LOSC Lille

Group I: Sivasspor vs Qarabağ, Villarreal vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv

Group J: Ludogorets vs Tottenham, Royal Antwerp vs LASK

Group K: Dinamo Zagreb vs Wolfsburg, Feyenoord vs CSKA Moskva

Group L: Crvena Zvezda vs Gent, Hoffenheim vs Slovan Liberec

Matchday 4, Thursday, November 26

Group A: CSKA Sofia vs Young Boys, CFR Cluj vs Roma

Group B: Molde vs Arsenal, Dundalk vs Rapid Wien

Group C: Leverkusen vs Hapoel Beer-Sheva, Nice vs Slavia Praha

Group D: Standard Liège vs Lech Poznań, Rangers vs Benfica

Group E: PSV Eindhoven vs PAOK, Granada vs Omonoia

Group F: Napoli vs Rijeka, AZ Alkmaar vs Real Sociedad

Group G: Braga vs Leicester, AEK Athens vs Zorya Luhansk

Group H: Sparta Praha vs Celtic, LOSC Lille vs AC Milan

Group I: Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Villarreal, Qarabağ vs Sivasspor

Group J: LASK vs Royal Antwerp, Tottenham vs Ludogorets

Group K: CSKA Moskva vs Feyenoord, Wolfsburg vs Dinamo Zagreb

Group L: Gent vs Crvena Zvezda, Slovan Liberec vs Hoffenheim

Matchday 5, Thursday, December 3

Group A: Roma vs Young Boys, CFR Cluj vs CSKA Sofia

Group B: Arsenal vs Rapid Wien, Molde vs Dundalk

Group C: Slavia Praha vs Hapoel Beer-Sheva, Nice vs Leverkusen

Group D: Benfica vs Lech Poznań, Rangers vs Standard Liège

Group E: Granada vs PSV Eindhoven, Omonoia vs PAOK

Group F: AZ Alkmaar vs Napoli, Real Sociedad vs Rijeka

Group G: AEK Athens vs Braga, Zorya Luhansk vs Leicester

Group H: AC Milan vs Celtic, LOSC Lille vs Sparta Praha

Group I: Qarabağ vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Sivasspor vs Villarreal

Group J: LASK vs Tottenham, Royal Antwerp vs Ludogorets

Group K: CSKA Moskva vs Wolfsburg, Feyenoord vs Dinamo Zagreb

Group L: Gent vs Slovan Liberec, Crvena Zvezda vs Hoffenheim

Matchday 6, Thursday, December 10

Group A: Young Boys vs CFR Cluj, CSKA Sofia vs Roma

Group B: Dundalk vs Arsenal, Rapid Wien vs Molde

Group C: Leverkusen vs Slavia Praha, Hapoel Beer-Sheva vs Nice

Group D: Standard Liège vs Benfica, Lech Poznań vs Rangers

Group E: PSV Eindhoven vs Omonia, PAOK vs Granada

Group F: Napoli vs Real Sociedad, Rijeka vs AZ Alkmaar

Group G: Braga vs Zorya Luhansk, Leicester vs AEK Athens

Group H: Celtic vs LOSC Lille, Sparta Praha vs AC Milan

Group I: Villarreal vs Qarabağ, Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Sivasspor

Group J: Tottenham vs Royal Antwerp, Ludogorets vs LASK

Group K: Dinamo Zagreb vs CSKA Moskva, Wolfsburg vs Feyenoord

Group L: Hoffenheim vs Gent, Slovan Liberec vs Crvena Zvezda

UEL knockout stage

Round of 32 - February 18

Round of 16 - March 11

Quarter-finals - April 8

Semi-finals - April 29

Final - May 26 (Gdańsk Stadium, Poland)

What’s new in the UEFA Europa League?

The knock-out stages from quarter-finals of the 2019-20 edition of the UEFA Europa League were played as a single-legged tie in Germany’s Cologne, Düsseldorf, Duisburg and Gelsenkirchen. The competition will, however, revert to two-legged tie for this season.

UEFA has also decided to continue with the five substitute rule for the new UEL season. Thus, increasing the squad strength to 23.

Moreover, Video Assistant Referee (VAR) will only be used from the knockout stages of the competition.

Where to watch the UEFA Europa League live in India

Sony is the official broadcaster of the UEFA Europa League in India. The UEL matches will be broadcast live on Sony TEN 2, Sony TEN 2 HD, Sony SIX and Sony SIX HD TV channels.

Live streaming of the UEFA Europa League in India will be available on SonyLIV.