The Europa League 2019-20 is one of the most prestigious football club tournaments in the world. It was formed in 2009 by merging the UEFA Cup and Intertoto Cup into a single tournament.
The new tournament is the successor to the UEFA Cup, which has a long and rich history of its own.
UEFA Cup
The tournament was played from 1971 to 2009. It was attended by teams that, according to the results of their championships, took high places, but did not make it to the Champions League (European Champions Cup) and the European Cup Winners 'Cup (Cup Winners' Cup).
Until 2004, the UEFA Cup was played according to the Olympic system, when teams played at home and away, followed by the elimination of one of them. From the 2004-2005 season, a group stage was introduced, the matches of which were played after qualifying and before the playoffs. The first winner of the tournament is Tottenham (London, England), and the last is Shakhtar (Donetsk, Ukraine).
Tournament winners
In total, 26 different clubs have won the Europa League (together with the UEFA Cup), 11 of which have done so more than once. Moreover, only two clubs won the tournament twice in a row: Real (Madrid, Spain) in 1985 and 1986, and Sevilla (Spain) in 2006-2007 and 2014-2015.
The record holder for the number of won tournaments is "Sevilla" (Spain). Three times the trophy was won by Inter (Milan, Italy), Juventus (Turin, Italy), Liverpool (England). The current winner is Sevilla, which won the final against Dnepr (Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine).
Structure and scheme
It is currently a challenging multi-level tournament with 191 teams representing 54 football associations, including exotic ones such as Gibraltar, Andorra and Luxembourg. Ukraine in the 2015/2016 season in the Europa League is represented by Dnipro, Zorya and Vorskla. The last two teams finished their performances after failing to qualify.
First, the teams in the Olympic system play in the preliminary tournament, which consists of four qualifying rounds and a playoff round, after which 30 teams advance to the group stage. There they are joined by the current winner of the tournament, 7 teams that got there directly according to the European odds table, and 10 teams that were eliminated from the Champions League playoff round.
According to the results of the group stage, the 24 best teams (who took first and second places in their groups) advance to the playoffs, where 8 teams from the Champions League (who took third places in their groups) join them. Then they continue to fight according to the Olympic system, starting from the 1 / 16th final. In the final, the two strongest teams compete for the championship title and the UEFA Cup trophy.
Trophy
The UEFA Cup, which is a large silver bowl (15 kg), is given to the winning team for temporary storage. A club that wins the Europa League (including the UEFA Cup) a total of five times, or three times in a row, will keep the original trophy for eternal storage. So far, no team has been able to meet this requirement.
Europa League 2015 on UA-Football
The UA-Football website has been covering the Europa League since its inception. A team of football experts creates quality content, from the announcements of all tours or rounds to the creation of a symbolic tour / round team
The presentation of all rivals of Ukrainian clubs in this tournament and a review of the foreign press after matches with the participation of Ukrainian teams are also presented.
The statistics system contains the standings of all groups of the Europa League and the table of the top scorers. The schedule of matches is also presented.
In addition, the archive of the previous seasons, starting from the 2011/2012 season, is saved in the statistics system of the section.
The second most important European football club tournament kicked off on 28 June 2018. The 2018-2019 Europa League will feature 215 teams from various UEFA football associations. The championship will last almost a year, and its main game, defining the champion, will take place on May 29, 2019 in Baku. The Europa League 2018-2019 schedule is very busy and promises a lot of interesting meetings.
Major changes
In the organization of football matches of the Europa League season 2018-2019, the formats of the games have been changed. The UEFA official website informs about the following innovations:
- UEFA Champions League (UCL) group stage tickets are automatically awarded to the winning teams of the Europa League (LE) rounds;
- teams that did not pass the qualifying round in the Champions League will be able to test their strength in the LE;
- 10 teams that were eliminated from the third qualifying round and the Champions League playoffs will receive an automatic ticket to the UEL group round;
- a preliminary round with a two-legged confrontation was introduced.
Match Schedule
The Europa League 2018-2019 schedule includes calendar of games of different rounds in which the teams are divided into groups.
The first matches of the preliminary round were played on June 26 and 28, and the return ones - on July 05, 2018. According to the results of the games, the winners were:
- Pristina (Republic of Kosovo);
- Gzira United (Malta);
- Engordany (Andorra);
- B-36 (Faroe Islands);
- Klaksvik (Faroe Islands);
- Tre Fiori (San Marino);
- Trakai (Lithuania).
The first matches of the first qualifying round took place on July 10-12, and the return ones - on July 19, 2018. Among the 94 competing teams of this round, the first places were taken by:
- Stjarnan (Iceland);
- Slavia (Bulgaria);
- Zalgiris (Lithuania);
- Fola (Luxembourg);
- Molde (Norway);
- DAK 1904 (Slovakia);
- Apollo (Cyprus);
- Domzale (Slovenia);
- Rangers (Scotland);
- Progress Niederkorn (Luxembourg);
- Viitorul (Romania);
- Tobol (Kazakhstan);
- Maribor (Slovenia);
- Ujpest (Hungary);
- Trencin (Slovakia);
- Dynamo Minsk (Republic of Belarus);
- B-36 (Faroe Islands);
- Gurnik Zabrze (Poland);
- Spartak Subotica (Serbia);
- Pyunik (Armenia);
- AIK (Sweden);
- Shakhtyor Soligorsk (Republic of Belarus);
- Habnarfjordur (Iceland);
- Ventspils (Latvia);
- Norshelland (Denmark);
- Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina);
- Kairat (Kazakhstan);
- Elezničar (Bosnia and Herzegovina);
- Osijek (Croatia);
- Latchi (Albania);
- Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel);
- Balzan Yuvs (Malta);
- Honved (Hungary);
- Partizan (Serbia);
- CSKA Sofia (Bulgaria);
- Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia);
- Radnichki (Serbia);
- Lech (Poland);
- Chihura (Georgia);
- Vaduz (Liechtenstein);
- Trakai (Lithuania);
- Hibernian (Scotland);
- Rudar Velenje (Slovakia);
- Dundalk (Ireland);
- Sarpsborg 08 (Norway);
- Copenhagen (Denmark);
- Hecken (Sweden).
The schedule of matches of the second qualifying stage of the Europa League 2018-2019 is as follows:
- first matches - July 26;
- reciprocal - 02 August.
The group stage of the competition includes six rounds, their schedule in 2018:
- September 20th.
- The 4th of October.
- the 25th of October.
- November 8.
- 29th of November.
- December 13th.
The playoffs start in February and end in the spring of 2019:
- 1/16 finals: February 14 - 1st matches, February 21 - 2nd;
- 1/8 finals: March 7 - 1st matches, March 14 - 2nd;
- Quarter-finals: April 11 - 1st matches, April 18 - 2nd;
- 1/2 finals: May 2 - 1st matches, May 9 - 2nd matches.
The final of the UEFA Europa League 2018-2019 will be held on May 29, 2019 in Azerbaijan in the capital's SC "Baku Olympic Stadium".
Second qualifying round participants
The second qualifying stage is divided into the Championship path and the Representative league path. The first matches have already been played, and re-matches are expected soon, which will sum up the results of this round.
Team roster of the second qualifying round, Championship Path:
- Alashkert (Armenia);
- APOEL (Cyprus);
- Valletta (Malta);
- Valur (Iceland);
- Vikingur (Faroe Islands);
- Drita (Republic of Kosovo);
- Zrinski (Bosnia and Herzegovina);
- Crusaders (Northern Ireland);
- La Fiorita (San Marino);
- Lincoln (Gibraltar);
- New Saints (Wales);
- Olympia Ljubljana (Slovenia);
- Santa Coloma (Andorra);
- Spartak Jurmala (Latvia);
- Sutjeska (Montenegro);
- Torpedo Kutaisi (Georgia);
- F91 Dudelange (Luxembourg);
- Flora (Estonia).
The representative league path includes 74 teams: 47 first qualifying round winners and 27 highly ranked teams from the football associations. The distribution of places in the championship is based on the UEFA coefficient table. Among the highly ranked countries, the top ten includes:
- Spain.
- Germany.
- England.
- Italy.
- France.
- Russia.
- Portugal.
- Ukraine.
- Belgium.
- Turkey.
Third qualifying round participants
The third qualifying stage also consists of the Champion and Representative path. The path of champions includes only 20 teams: 10 eliminated from the Champions League after the second qualifying round and 10 winners of the second qualifying round of the LE. Among the participants so far, only Irish Cork City is known. The rest of the teams will be determined after the end of the second qualifying round on August 02.
The UEL Representative Path will host 37 winners of the second qualifying stage of their category and 15 teams that left the Champions League after the second qualifying round in the League Pathway competition.
Zenit is one of the teams that received a direct ticket to the third round of the Europa League 2018-2019. Other commands include:
- Rijeka (Croatia);
- Istanbul Basaksehir (Turkey);
- Braga (Portugal);
- Zarya Lugansk (Ukraine);
- Rapid (Austria);
- Sigma (Czech Republic);
- Olympiacos (Greece);
- Feyenoord (Netherlands);
- Lucerne (Switzerland);
- Ghent (Belgium);
- Brøndby (Denmark);
- University (Romania).
Play-off round
Participants in the playoffs of the qualification will be known after all the footballs of the third round of the Europa League 2018-2019, that is, after August 16. 16 teams will play in the Champions Path category, 10 of them are the Champions Path third round winners, and 6 are the Champions League losers since the third qualifying round.
26 clubs advance to the playoffs of the Executive Path, winning in the third round.
Group stage
This stage will be attended by 48 football clubs:
- 8 winners of the playoffs of the LE of the Championship path;
- 13 winners of the LE Paths of the representative leagues;
- 4 losers after the third round of the Representative League Path in the Champions League;
- 4 losers since Champions Path qualifying playoffs;
- 2 losers after qualifying playoffs of the Champions League Representative Leagues Path.
The remaining 17 teams are high-ranking clubs:
- Arsenal (England);
- Chelsea (England);
- Bayer (Germany);
- Villarreal (Spain);
- Anderlecht (Belgium);
- Lazio (Italy);
- Sporting Lisbon (Portugal);
- Marseille (France);
- Milan, Italy);
- Krasnodar, Russia);
- Betis (Spain);
- Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany);
- Zurich (Switzerland);
- Rennes (France);
- Vorskla (Ukraine);
- Akhisar Belediespor (Turkey);
- Jablonec (Czech Republic).
Play-off
32 teams will play in the Europa League playoffs 2019:
- 8 - winners of bronze in the Champions League group round;
- 24 - 1st and 2nd place winners in the UEL group round.
The UEFA Europa League 2018 - 2019 is the 47th edition of the prestigious European club championship, which runs from 28 June 2018 to 29 May 2019. Several hundred professional teams representing 55 football associations will take part in it. Two of them will challenge the title in the final confrontation to be held in the capital of Azerbaijan. It is quite possible that one of these lucky ones will be a Russian club. Fortunately, there is a winning experience. Zenit and CSKA won't let you lie!
Calendar of games of the Europa League 2018 - 2019
The 47th edition of the second most important European Cup kicks off on 28 June 2018. The LE games will take almost 12 months. The championship will summarize the final match, which will take place on May 29, 2019.
The most interesting events will take place in the group stage and playoffs. But the tournament regulations also provide for an extensive qualifying round. He can be remembered for a number of interesting encounters.
Here's what the detailed UEFA Europa League 2018/2019 schedule looks like:
Qualification:
- preliminary round: June 28 and July 5, 2018;
- 1st round: July 12/19;
- 2nd: July 26 and August 2;
- 3rd: 9/16 August;
- playoffs: 23/30 August.
Group stage:
- 1st round: September 20;
- 2nd: October 4;
- 3rd: October 25;
- 4th: November 8;
- 5th: November 29;
- 6th: December 13th.
Playoffs:
- 1/16: February 14/21, 2019;
- 1/8: March 7/14;
- 1/4: April 11/18;
- ½: May 2/9;
- final: May 29.
The clubs will recognize their opponents during the draws of the 2018-19 UEFA Europa League, of which there will be a total of 9. The first of them will determine the duos of the preliminary round, and the second - the semi-final pairs.
Where will the 2018 UEFA Football League final take place?
The climax of the 47th edition will be hosted by Azerbaijan. The super match will take place in the capital of the republic, within the walls of the Baku Olympic Stadium. The footballers will enter the field of the sports complex on May 29, 2019.
This is a brand new stadium, opened in 2015. Despite its "youth", the SK has already managed to host significant sporting events. Within its walls, competitions were held within the framework of the 1st European Games. It is planned that in 2020 the stadium will host several matches of Euro 2020.
Participating teams
In total, several dozen teams will compete in the main draw. 48 PFCs will start their way to the trophy from the group stage. 24 of them will make it to the playoffs of the 2018/2019 Europa League. They will be joined by 8 more teams - FC, which took 3rd place at the end of the group stage of the Champions League. The names of these teams will be announced on December 11-12, 2018.
UEFA Europa League standings 2018 - 2019
If the circle of contenders for victory in the Champions League is limited to a narrow circle of TOP clubs, then more than a dozen PFCs can count on a triumph in the LE.
Spanish teams
Football players from the Pyrenees most often became champions of the championship. They have 10 victories on their account. Sevilla has become especially adept in this matter. The Nervionians raised the trophy over their heads five times, and from 2014 to 2016 they did it three times in a row!
The Spaniards are good at all professional and amateur tournaments, be it national team or club competition. Therefore, it is very likely that the football team from the homeland of bullfighting will surprise the world again!
Italian bands
Italian football is on the rise. After many years of neglect, Juventus, Napoli and Milan are re-entering the European football arena. Of course, their aspirations are related to the Champions League. But it may well be that some grandee from the Apennine Peninsula will shake the old days in the second most important European Cup. Therefore, fans of Italian clubs have the right to count on the high score of their favorites in the 2018-19 UEFA Europa League.
FC from Italy became the best in the tournament 9 times. True, the last time they managed to celebrate a triumph was in the 1998 - 1999 season, when the championship was still called the UEFA Cup.
Russian clubs
Our fans remember the victories of CSKA and Zenit. The Muscovites were the best in the 2004/05 draw, and the St. Petersburgers were the best in 2007/08. Since then, the domestic squads have not enjoyed success. This was partly due to unsuccessful games. But for the most part, the reason was different: the Russians approached the LE matches slipshod. The Premier League has consistently been a priority. Let's hope that domestic PFCs will take a more responsible attitude to the games of the upcoming draw!
Of the 32 participants in the group stage, 26 are known. Two of them, which is very happy, represent Russia.
Who will definitely play in the group stage?
Spain: Barcelona, Atlético, Real Madrid, Valencia
Germany: Bayern Munich, Schalke 04, Hoffenheim, Borussia Dortmund
England: Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham, Liverpool
Italy: Juventus, Napoli, Roma, Internazionale
France: Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco, Lyon
Russia: Lokomotiv, CSKA
Portugal: Porto
Ukraine:"Miner"
Belgium: Bruges
Turkey:"Galatasaray"
Czech Republic:"Victoria"
What is known about sowing?
The first basket includes the champions of the six best associations and the winners of the Champions League and Europa League - Real Madrid and Atlético. The rest of the baskets are formed according to the table of coefficients at the end of the 2017/18 season.
Basket 1: Real Madrid (winner of the Champions League), Atlético (winner of the Europa League), Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, "Locomotive"
Basket 2: Borussia Dortmund, Porto, Manchester United, Shakhtar Donetsk, Napoli, Tottenham, 2 more clubs
Basket 3: Schalke, Lyon, Monaco, CSKA, 4 more clubs
Basket 4: Inter, Hoffenheim, 6 more clubs
Depending on the qualifying results, Roma and Liverpool will be in the second or third basket, while Valencia, Victoria, Club Brugge and Galatasaray will be in the third or fourth.
What about qualifications?
Six tickets to the group round will be played in qualifying. There are two qualification paths: the Champions Path (for domestic championship title holders only) and the League Representative Path.
Representing Russia "Spartacus"(club rating 13,500) will follow the path of the league representatives.
8 teams take part in the third qualifying round: 3 winners of the second qualifying round, Spartak, as well as vice-champions of Portugal, Ukraine, Belgium and the third team of France.
If Spartak concedes in the third qualifying round of the Champions League, they will play in the group stage of the Europa League. If we are lucky, we will have the opportunity to see three Russian clubs at the group stage.
When will the draw take place?
12/06/18: Preliminary round, Nyon
19/06/18: First and second qualifying rounds, Nyon
23/07/18: Third qualifying round, Nyon
06/08/18: Play-off round, Nyon
30/08/18: Group stage, Monaco
12/17/18: Round of 16, Nyon
03/15/19: 1/4 and 1/2 finals, Nyon
Europa League
17 teams automatically made it to the 2018/19 Europa League group stage. Another 31 clubs will make their way to the main draw through qualifying.
Who will definitely play in the group stage?
Spain: Villarreal, Betis
Germany: Bayer, Eintracht Frankfurt
England: Chelsea, Arsenal
Italy: Lazio, Atalanta
France: Olympic, Rennes
Russia: Krasnodar
Portugal: Sporting
Ukraine:"Vorskla"
Belgium: Anderlecht
Turkey:"Akhisar Belediespor"
Czech Republic:"Yablonec"
Switzerland: Zurich
What is known about sowing?
The 48 participants in the group stage will be split into four baskets based on club odds. All 12 groups will have one representative from each basket. Thus, it is simply impossible to calculate the composition of these baskets before the end of the playoff round.
So far, we can only say that teams from one association are divided into different groups.
What about qualifications?
Of the 48 participants in the group stage, 17 are currently known. In August, 10 teams from the Champions League qualifiers will join them. Another 21 tickets will be played in the playoffs.
As in the Champions League, there are two qualifying paths in UEL: the Champions Path (where teams will be eliminated from the Champions League between the preliminary round and the third qualifying round of the Champions Path) and the Main Path (the rest of the Europa League members from all 55 national associations will play here) plus teams that will leave the Champions League after being defeated in the second qualifying round of the League Representative Path).
"Zenith" will start the fight from the third qualifying round (matches on August 9 and 16), while the high club rating (78,000) guarantees the Petersburgers a place among the seeded in all rounds of selection.
Debutant of European Cups "Ufa" To advance to the group stage, you will need to win three two-legged confrontations: in the second and third qualifying rounds, as well as the playoff round. The low rating (10.676) of the Ufa team complicates the task for the "townspeople", but at least at the start the Russians should not have any problems - Ufa will play with the winner of the Shiroki Brieg (Bosnia and Herzegovina) - Domzale (Slovenia) pair. The matches will take place on July 26 and August 2.
When will the draw take place?
12/06/18: Preliminary round (Main path), Nyon
19/06/18: Second qualifying round draw (Champions Path), Nyon
20/06/18: First and second qualifying round draws (Main route), Nyon
23/07/18: Third qualifying round draw, Nyon
06/08/18: Play-off round draw, Nyon
31/08/18: Group stage, Monaco
12/17/18: Round of 16, Nyon
22/02/19: Round of 16, Nyon
03/15/19: 1/4 and 1/2 finals, Nyon
After the draw of the Europa League, the management of football clubs was able to see competitors on the lawn. Some were glad of this and could not contain their emotions, while others, on the contrary, were depressed. But most importantly, after this, certain teams will have to start writing the history of personal confrontations or correct the current ones. For each group, as well as the schedule, it is worth going through in detail.
Group A
The situation in the Bundesliga standings last year left Bayer no other road than to the Europa League. Although, with better additional indicators, they could play in the Champions League group stage. Only this suggests that they should fight only for the first final line.
AEK from Larnaca went through a difficult path of qualification, but never lost. At the same time, they constantly won big at home without a pass to their own goal. At this rate, they are able to create competition in the European arena.
A direct hit to the tournament was ensured by Zurich, which is showing not the best results in the domestic championship so far. Almost the same situation applies to Ludogorts, who, in parallel with the First League of the Bulgarian Championship, alternated performances in the qualifying round. Only the last final round against Torpedo from Kutaisi was easy for them.
Group B
Salzburg, following the results of the last draw, deserved the opportunity to compete for the group stage of the Champions League. At first, everything went well and even against Crvena Zvezda they were leading at home with a score of 2: 0. But the final score 2: 2 did not let the Serbian squad go ahead. Now the club from Austria will show their skills at the tournament below the prestige.
Having failed to pass the first round of the Champions League qualification, Rosenborg continued to fight for the Europa League and quite successfully. He defeated everyone, leaving no doubt that all the club's players will only fight for reaching the 1/16 finals.
Another representative of the earlier selection for the Champions League, which followed a similar path for the teams that fell into the group, is Celtic. By the way, it is worth noting that it was this squad that knocked Rosenborg out of the subsequent struggle.
Until recently, the German RB Leipzig fought for a place in the LE. The team has plenty of experience, as last year it was stopped only by Marseille in the ¼ finals.
Group C
The most interesting group for Russian fans, since Zenit is here together with Dziuba. Since the winner of the country's cup was eliminated from the game, the path of the St. Petersburg team turned out to be somewhat shorter. They passed only Dynamo Minsk, spending a lot of nerves and efforts.
Bordeaux have won 5 of 6 qualifying matches, but in the domestic league, things are not going well for them. Perhaps the team will tune in exclusively to the European tournament, since in the pursuit of two birds with one stone, you can get nothing at all.
Copenhagen has traveled no less. But at the same time, it should be noted that he was able to knock out the Italian Atalanta, beating it in extra time. But Slavia Prague could not do anything to Dynamo Kiev on the way to the Champions League, which lowered it to the tournament lower in class.
Group D
Anderlecht can be called a direct participant of the Europa League. The attack is especially pleasing for the team, since in the last matches they did not leave the field without at least 1-2 goals, even if they lost.
Dynamo Zagreb tried to break through to a higher level, but there they were stopped by the Young Boys, who are now on the move. And it was just a step away after they overthrew "Hapoel Beer-Sheva" and "Astana". Fenerbahce was initially given the opportunity to compete for a place in the Champions League group, but they could not do anything against Benfica.
Another representative of the Champions League is Spartak Trnava. But later they had to go through the qualifying round for this tournament. Due to this, they scored a little in the domestic championship, where they are still in the so-called group of candidates for relegation.
Group E
The main candidate for further advance is, of course, English Arsenal. He received a ticket to the group stage directly, without additional rounds of selection. Recently, he has come across exceptionally tough nuts, on which he often stumbles. But in the group for him there shouldn't be any problems at all, taking into account the level of play of the other squads. Lisbon “Sporting” also got directly into the LE group, which will try to create competition for the team from England. But they often let into their own gates, which leads at least to a draw or even defeat.
The Europa League is not a novelty for Vorskla Poltava, which received such a right due to the third line at the end of the 2017/2018 Ukrainian Championship. They were able to adjust the stadium to the requirements of UEFA. From the outside, the management is really the right decision, since it was here that the lion's share of points was scored. Away they play very badly.
“Garabagh” could not get into the Champions League, which was blocked by the players of “BATE”. But looking at the statistics and play on the field, the Azerbaijani club looked much better. Now they will have to make every effort to go further. The main thing is not to make the mistakes that cost them the flight to Eindhoven.
Group F
Another group that looks like the main contender for gold. Here such is Milan, which, thanks to a well-coordinated game at the end of last season, was able to get tickets to the last carriage. "At home" due to a complicated calendar, things are not going very well for them, where you have to apply maximum strength and energy.
Betis players can also put pressure on the Italian club. If they held friendly matches at the highest level, in the domestic championship they suffer defeats and failures not even against strong opponents.
The team from Luxembourg is now in almost a similar situation. He started by trying to break into the group stage of the Champions League. Then he only had to get into Group F of the Europa League. It is worth noting that it was on the European tournaments that Dudelange concentrated most of all, since in the national division the players suffer defeat after defeat and so far occupy only the last line.
He passed the qualification quite successfully, and also performs at his best in the Olympiacos domestic championship. If they continue to enter the field with the same attitude, they will be able to capture the second line after Milan.
Group G
Spartak Moscow failed to qualify for the Champions League. For this reason, he was given the opportunity to prove himself in LE. So far, they have paid more attention to the Russian Premier League, where they are following the leader in the person of Zenit, which they are able to bypass in the near future.
Due to home victories, Rapid managed to knock out a ticket to Group G, having gone a long way in the qualifying round. Away matches are especially important for European tournaments. But here the Austrian team will have to seriously tighten up in order to look at a decent level with all the other representatives of their championships.
Despite the fact that the Spanish "Villarreal" went directly to the group stage, they have many problems with the players, as well as with the tactics of the game on the lawn. All this is reflected in the results, which only get worse from match to match. In the Spanish championship, they even lose all their home games. So it is not clear at the expense of what they will oppose the "tough guys" in the Europa League.
One Russian club, Rangers, has already made it through the last qualifying round (Ufa). But now the task is more difficult. Although the team hadn’t lost for a long time, victories weren’t very easy.
Group H
Three strong teams were in one group at once. At the same time, they all received tickets for the group stage without additional qualifications. We are talking about Lazio, Marseille and Eintracht F.
The Italian team does not know how to find themselves in the game, as they managed to win only two matches out of the last seven, and even then against weak opponents. Looked good against Napoli, but did nothing against the champions of Italy. The situation is no better for Marseille, which reached the final stage of the LE in the last season, where they lost to Atlético. Of the last 7 matches, they have only one win against Toulouse. The German football club is also suitable with such indicators. He flies into every team, including the national cup. From all this, only one question can arise - how did the teams make their way to the European tournament in general?
The Cypriot Apollo started the selection from the very first round. They could concentrate only on the Europa League due to the fact that the domestic championship had not yet begun. This played into their hands, where they, mainly due to matches on their own field, passed opponents, demonstrating an excellent game in defense.
Group I
Genk had to try hard to get to the group stage of the tournament. But at the same time, they scored just a crazy move and smash rivals on the lawn one after another. The last time they lost 21 matches ago to the solid "Standard". This can only say about one thing - the plans of the football club are set only for further victories. According to the results, the competitor in the Malmo group is similar. They did not qualify for the Champions League, but only due to additional indicators, since they have not lost already 15 confrontations on the field.
Sarpsborg 08 lacks stability, which, even with the support of their own tribunes, cannot easily surpass their opponents. If it had not been for LASK's away goal in the qualifying round, Besiktas would hardly have ended up here. But then they calmly knocked out the Serbian Partizan from the game. It would not hurt them to improve the situation in defense in the near future, as they miss very often.
Group J
Europa League fancier Spanish Sevilla qualified very easily. Recently, they lost only to Barcelona in the match for the Super Cup of the country. The football club is able to combine the game not only in the domestic championship, but also in the European tournament, constantly demonstrating the achievements of high standards. Not surprising, since it is not the first year in a row that they represent a country in Europe.
Standard failed to do anything to Ajax in qualifying for the Champions League and for this reason dropped to a lower level. They will try to create at least minimal competition with other rivals. Most likely for the passage further they will have to fight with Krasnodar, which got into the LE directly without additional obstacles.
The Turkish "Akhisar" can be considered an outsider of group J. Lately, their game has been going very badly. At home, draws reach the maximum, and at a party they are constantly losing. They have already played against a team from Russia. We are talking about the Moscow Lokomotiv, which they lost 2: 1 on the road.
Group K
Yablonec and Rennes received direct tickets to the tournament, but Astana and Dynamo Kiev had to make an initial effort in qualifying for the Champions League. Dynamo stopped literally one step away from the cherished goal, and the Kazakhstani football club was still playing in the selection round with APOEL, which it only hit in stoppage time.
The French and Czech teams have not shown anything worthy yet. In their championships, they are closer to the bottom of the standings, although there is potential. We can say that the group is very tense, and everyone will be able to compete for reaching the next stage on the way to the trophy.
Group L
Almost unconditionally, one can name a clear contender for the first place in Group L. We are talking about London Chelsea. The team is determined not only at the tournament in Europe, but also at home. While they keep pace with Liverpool, constantly beating opponents. But the other three teams will have to seriously fight to determine the best in the quartet. It should be noted that they all stopped just a step away from the group stage of the Champions League.
PAOK, after the passage of Moscow's Spartak, simply merged with Benfica, receiving a red card. "MOL Vidi" from Hungary could not oppose anything to "AEK", despite the two removal of players from the latter. BATE after a long journey broke down in the away confrontation against PSV.
Match Schedule
All participants are known by group, but more interesting is how and in what sequence they will play among themselves. After all, this is intertwined with the domestic championship, the departure of some of the leading players to the camp of national teams and cup matches. Each round, of which there are 6, will be played 24 meetings on the lawn.
1st round
The history of personal confrontations will begin between Dynamo Kiev and Astana, Akhisar and Krasnodar, Dudelange and Milan and many others. That is, some of the clubs were at this level for the first time and it will be important for them to play against strong squads in gaining experience and skill.
Albeit away, but Zenit must score points at Copenhagen. Previously, they had already met in a friendly match, where the Petersburgers did not leave a wet place from the opponent, having won with a score of 5: 0. Chelsea will play on the field of the offender of Spartak, and already here the players must do everything to gain points. Vorskla fans, in turn, will travel to England, where their team will face the strong and powerful Arsenal.
2nd round
German Bayer, as well as Zenit, should not experience any difficulties, as their opponents are AEK from Larnaca and Prague Slavia, respectively. Other Russian squads will have to sweat against the Spanish clubs, even if they play on their own field. The fans of “Karabakh” will welcome the “Gunners” to their field, and the Rangers, who didn’t let Ufa ahead, will try to cope with “Rapid” in their field.
3rd round
As part of the third round, Spain's Betis will go to Italy to play against Milan's players. The opposition between Sporting and Arsenal, which will take to the field of the Jose Alvalade stadium in the Portuguese capital, should be stubborn enough. There is a possibility that Akhisar will fly away from Sevilla. But the Belarusian fans will be chained to the confrontation between their team and London Chelsea.
There should be no difficulties in achieving a victorious result for "Karabakh". Vorskla from Poltava will be their competitor on the pitch. Spartak Moscow and Krasnodar will play away against Rangers and Standard, respectively.
4 round
After the third round played, the teams will swap places. And if, for example, Sevilla hosted a club from Turkey, now they will have to go to Turkish soil on their own. It is quite interesting how BATE will behave in the confrontation with Chelsea, albeit at home. Some fans of the “pensioners” consider the Belarusian team “a means for free points”. But let's see how it will be in this meeting, since earlier BATE scored twice against Arsenal at home, won against Roma, Athletic B, took points from Bayer, Fenerbahce and almost beat the great Juventus.
5th round
All Russian teams will find themselves on their own fields, where the native stands should have a positive impact on the clubs' performances. French "Bordeaux" have never met Czech "Slavia" before. They have to do this already on their own field. It will not be sweet for Salzburg and Eintracht Frankfurt am Main, which will take to the pitch against RB Leipzig and Marseille, respectively. The latter will try to break through not only further from the group, but also generally get close to the final part. The history of personal confrontations between Rennes and Jablonec, which will face off at the Stršelnice stadium, will begin their history.
6 round
By the beginning of this tour, a lot may already be clear about who will take which places at the end of the group stage. Most likely, in several groups, the owners of gold and silver will already be clear, passing further. But in more than half the teams will still have to try to get ahead of the opponent or not let him go ahead.
The players of "Standard" will have to go to Turkish soil, and Moscow "Spartak" will try their hand at the stadium "Keramika" in Villarreal. “Marseille” and “Sporting” are obliged to cope with ease, as “Apollo” and “Vorskla” are prepared for them, respectively. There may be an unexpected result on the grass of the Emirates stadium, since Garabagh showed that it is not going to give up just like that.
Video about the results of the UEL 2018/19 draw