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Europa League 2024/25 draw: Man United, Tottenham and Rangers learn fate
The draw for the newly restructured first phase of the 2024/25 Europa League has been finalized, with Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, and Rangers among the teams learning their opponents.
Similar to the Champions League, the Europa League has moved away from the traditional group stage format, adopting a Swiss-style system where all 36 teams compete in a single extended table for knockout round qualification.
The teams were divided into four pots based on their UEFA coefficient rankings, and they will each play eight matches determined by a supercomputer—designed to create more competitive and exciting games earlier in the tournament.
Here’s how the draw played out for the three British teams, along with a guide to their respective pots.
Pots for Europa League league phase draw
- Pot One: AS Roma, Manchester United, Porto, Ajax, Rangers, Eintracht Frankfurt, Lazio, Tottenham, Slavia Prague.
- Pot Two: Real Sociedad, AZ Alkmaar, Braga, Olympiakos, Lyon, PAOK, Fenerbahce, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Ferencvaros.
- Pot Three: Qarabag, Galatasaray, Viktoria Plzen, Bodo/Glimt, Union SG, Dynamo Kyiv, Ludogorets, Midtjylland, Malmo.
- Pot Four: Athletic Club, Hoffenheim, Nice, Anderlecht, Twente, Besiktas, FK RFS, Steaua Bucharest, Elfsborg.
Manchester United
Manchester United have arguably received the most favorable draw among the three British teams participating.
Rangers are set to visit Old Trafford as one of the two Pot 1 teams drawn alongside Porto, meaning the Red Devils will face a challenging trip to Portugal where they’ll need to deliver a strong performance to secure a positive result.
From Pot 2, PAOK and Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce were drawn, promising an exciting encounter when United travel to Turkey.
Bodo/Glimt and FC Twente are the other teams set to visit Manchester, with United’s campaign concluding with away fixtures at Viktoria Plzen—familiar from past Champions League appearances—and FCSB.
Man Utd’s eight confirmed league phase fixtures
- Rangers (H)
- Porto (A)
- PAOK (H)
- Fenerbahce (A)
- Bodo/Glimt (H)
- Viktoria Plzen (A)
- FC Twente (H)
- FCSB (A)
Tottenham
Tottenham’s Europa League campaign will present them with several challenging away fixtures, particularly their trip to Ibrox to face Rangers, the fierce rivals of Ange Postecoglou’s former club, Celtic.
Roma, once managed by former Spurs boss Jose Mourinho, will visit North London as Tottenham’s other Pot 1 opponent. From Pot 2, AZ Alkmaar and Ferencvaros were drawn, both set to provide tough competition.
While Qarabag and Elfsborg should offer winnable home games for Postecoglou’s side, the away trips to Galatasaray and Hoffenheim are likely to be more daunting.
Tottenham’s eight confirmed league phase fixtures
- Roma (H)
- Rangers (A)
- AZ Alkmaar (H)
- Ferencvaros (A)
- Qarabag (H)
- Galatasaray (A)
- Elfsborg (H)
- Hoffenheim (A)
Rangers
Rangers have been dealt a rough hand in terms of pot one opponents, picking out both Tottenham and Manchester United.
The Scottish Premierhship giants will also face up to Lyon, Union Saint-Gilloise and FCSB at home, with their games on the road taking them to last season’s Conference League winners, Olympiacos, Malmo and Ligue 1 side Nice, who are under the INEOS ownership umbrella.
Rangers’ eight confirmed league phase fixtures
- Tottenham (H)
- Manchester United (A)
- Lyon (H)
- Olympiacos (A)
- Union Saint-Gilloise (H)
- Malmo (A)
- FCSB (H)
- Nice (A)
When does the Europa League league phase begin?
Matchday one will be spread across two days, the 25th and 26th September.
There will then be regular intervals of either two or three weeks between matchdays, culminating in the eighth and final fixtures which will be played on Thursday 30 January 2025.
| Matchday | Date |
|---|---|
| 1 | 25/26 September 2024 |
| 2 | 3 October 2024 |
| 3 | 24 October 2024 |
| 4 | 7 November 2024 |
| 5 | 28 November 2024 |
| 6 | 12 December 2024 |
| 7 | 23 January 2025 |
| 8 | 30 January 2025 |