Liverpool will find out their opponents for their first Europa League campaign since reaching the 2016 final when the draw is made on Friday. Here’s who they can face.
The Reds dropped out of the Champions League places for the first time in seven years last season having become accustomed to dining at the top table of European football.
Jurgen Klopp took his side to three Champions League finals between 2018 and 2022, but he has been consigned to Thursday night football for the upcoming European campaign.
Despite dropping down a tier for 2023/24, there are still a number of high-profile clubs that Liverpool could meet as they bid to make the knockout stages of the competition.
The groups will be comprised of a team from each of the four pots, with Liverpool not able to meet another English side until the later rounds.
The Reds are the highest seeded team in the competition and therefore in pot one, here’s a look at who we could face in the group stages of this season’s Europa League.
Europa League Group Stage Pots
Here’s the 32 teams in the Europa League. Liverpool will be drawn with one side each from pots two, three and four. They cannot be drawn with Brighton, meaning there are 23 potential opponents in Friday’s draw.
Pot 1: Liverpool, West Ham, Roma, Villarreal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atalanta, Ajax, Rangers
Pot 2: Sporting CP, Slavia Prague, Rennes, Olympiakos, Real Betis, Marseille, Qarabag
Pot 2 or 3: Molde
Pot 3: Brighton, Sheriff Tiraspol, Union Saint-Gilloise, SC Freiburg, Sparta Prague, Maccabi Haifa, Sturm Graz
Pot 3 or 4: Toulouse
Pot 4: AEK Athens, TSC, Servette, Panathinaikos, Rakow Czestochowa, Limassol
TBC: BK Hacken, LASK
When and where is the draw?
The draw will be taking place in Monaco on Friday, September 1 at 12pm (BST).
It will also be streamed live on UEFA‘s website and on TNT Sports 1.
Group Stage Schedule
Matchday 1: September 21
Matchday 2: October 5
Matchday 3: October 26
Matchday 4: November 9
Matchday 5: November 30
Matchday 6: December 14
The knockout rounds will then commence with a play-off round in February, which Liverpool can bypass by finishing top of their group.
The final takes place in Dublin on May 22, where Liverpool will be hoping to go one better than their previous appearance in Basel eight years earlier.