The qualifying rounds are over, on Friday it is finally time: The draw for the league phase of the UEFA Europa League is just around the corner. But whom could TSG Hoffenheim actually face in the fourth campaign in international competition in the club’s history? What is clear is that there will not be a classic group stage with three home games and three away games in the new system, but rather four home matches and four away matches. In addition, there will be eight different opponents and no reverse and return fixture like there were before. The teams will once again be divided into four pots, but from now on one’s own pot will no longer have any effect on the strength of the opposition. TSG will face two teams per pot, one at home and one away. TSG themselves are in pot 4. There will not be any direct meetings between clubs from the same national association. Hoffenheim will therefore not face Eintracht Frankfurt. All the details on the new format can be found here.
Here are the pots:
Pot 1:
Roma (Italy)
Manchester United (England)
Porto (Portugal)
Ajax (Netherlands)
Rangers (Scotland)
Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany)
Lazio (Italy)
Tottenham Hotspur (England)
Slavia Prague (Czechia)
Pot 2:
Real Sociedad (Spain)
AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands)
Sporting Braga (Portugal)
Olympiacos (Greece)
Olympique Lyon (France)
PAOK Thessaloniki (Greece)
Fenerbahçe (Türkiye)
Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel)
Ferencváros (Hungary)
Pot 3:
Qarabağ (Azerbaijan)
Galatasaray (Türkiye)
Bodø/Glimt (Norway)
Viktoria Plzeň (Czechia)
Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (Belgium)
Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine)
Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
Midtjylland (Denmark)
Malmö (Sweden)
Pot 4:
Athletic Bilbao (Spain)
TSG Hoffenheim (Germany)
Nice (France)
Anderlecht (Belgium)
Twente Enschede (Netherlands)
Beşiktaş (Türkiye)
FCSB (Romania)
RFS (Latvia)
Elfsborg (Sweden)