The Europa League play-off draw is coming up – how are English teams affected and who gets a bye to the last 16?
The play-off draw only affects the sides who finish second in their Europa League groups, pitting them each against one of the eight teams who finish third in their Champions League groups.
It means each Europa League group winner gets a round off – and will head straight through to the last 16, meaning no more European football to worry about until March 9.
Both English sides in this season’s Europa League, Arsenal and Manchester United, have already qualified from the group stages.
However, both could still finish first or second in their respective groups, meaning they will not know if they can skip the play-off draw until after the conclusion of this Thursday’s final group matches.
When is the Europa League play-off draw?
The draw will be held at 12pm on Monday, November 7, at the House of European Football at UEFA headquarters in Switzerland.
How does the draw work?
The eight group runners-up from the Europa League will be seeded to face any of the eight third-placed sides from the Champions League group stages.
The only restriction involves national associations – no two sides from the same territory can be drawn against each other at this stage.
The Europa League final will be played at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on May 31, 2023
What happens to the group winners?
They miss out on the draw and receive a bye to the round of 16. On February 24, they will be seeded and drawn against one of the eight winners from this play-off round.
Again, teams from the same association will not be able be drawn together.
Who will be in the play-off draw?
Europa League second-placed sides, seeded
Champions League third-placed sides, unseeded
- Ajax
- Barcelona
- Bayer Leverkusen
- Juventus
- RB Salzburg
- Sevilla
- Shakhtar Donetsk
- Sporting Lisbon
When will the games be played?
The first legs of the last play-off round will be played on February 16 2023, before the return legs a week later.