Man Utd's Best & Worst Case Scenarios Ahead of 2019/20 Europa League Group Stage Draw
Manchester United's Europa League campaign will begin this week when the 2019/20 group stage draw takes place in Monaco on Friday.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side will be among the top seeds in pot one, having won the competition in 2017 and a regular European participant over the last five years. They will be an opponent that are feared by many, but also a major scalp to be claimed.
Here's who they could face, who they'll be hoping to meet and who they'll want to avoid...
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Pot 1
Pot one is reserved for the 12 clubs with the highest UEFA Club Coefficient, meaning that United will be joined among the top seeds by the likes of five-time winners Sevilla, 2019 finalists Arsenal, Porto, Roma, Lazio, Sporting CP and others.
None of these teams will face each other in the group stage as the draw will place one club from each of the draw pots (1-4) into the 12 groups (A-L).
Pot 1 | UEFA Club Coefficient |
Sevilla | 104.000 |
Arsenal | 101.000 |
Porto | 93.000 |
Roma | 81.000 |
Manchester United | 78.000 |
Dynamo Kyiv | 65.000 |
Besiktas | 62.000 |
Basel | 54.500 |
Sporting CP | 50.000 |
CSKA Moscow | 48.000 |
Wolfsburg | 40.000 |
Lazio | 37.000 |
Best Case Draw: N/A
Worst Case Draw: N/A
Pot 2
From a quality standpoint, United shouldn't be worried about any of the teams in pot two. That being said, there is more to consider, especially where long-distance travelling and any potential domestic knock-on effect is involved.
Astana, who are comfortably leading their playoff tie against BATE Borisov, would definitely be one to avoid as the Kazakh city is closer to China than it is to the rest of Europe.
Pot 2 | UEFA Club Coefficient |
Krasnodar | 34.500 |
Borussia Monchengladbach | 29.000 |
Young Boys | 27.500 |
Astana or BATE Borisov | 27.500 |
APOEL | 25.500 |
Best Case Draw: Young Boys
Worst Case Draw: Astana
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Unconfirmed Pots
This is where it gets a little complicated for now. There are still 21 unconfirmed qualifiers until the conclusion of Thursday night's playoff round. Every club involved has a different UEFA Club Coefficient that will determine whether they go into pot two, three or four.
Fellow Premier League side Wolves could end up in pot two or pot three depending on the rest of the qualifiers, but United cannot face another English side at this stage of the competition.
Pot 2 or 3 | UEFA Club Coefficient |
Saint-Etienne | 23.000 |
Getafe | 20.713 |
Standard Liege | 17.500 |
Braga or Spartak Moscow | 31.000 or 16.000 |
Ludogorets Razgrad or Maribor | 27.000 or 18.500 |
Torino or Wolverhampton Wanderers | 14.495 or 17.092 |
Celtic will take a place in two if they see off Sweden's AIK, who would go in pot four. They will be one to avoid as Scottish clubs often raise their game against English sides in Europe.
Pot 2 or 4 | UEFA Club Coefficient |
Celtic or AIK | 31.000 or 5.500 |
FC Copenhagen or Riga FC | 31.000 or 1.125 |
The same logic about Celtic would apply to Rangers, who would be a tough, albeit local, opponent. Their lack of European football in recent years would put them in pot four should they get the better of Legia Warsaw in qualifying, with the Poles set for pot two or three if they make it.
Molde could be a nice draw for Solskjaer if the Norwegians get through their playoff round.
Pot 2, 3 or 4 | UEFA Club Coefficient |
PSV Eindhoven or Apollon Limassol | 37.000 or 12.000 |
KAA Gent or HNK Rijeka | 29.500 or 13.500 |
Legia Warsaw or Rangers | 24.500 or 5.250 |
Strasbourg or Eintracht Frankfurt | 11.699 or 24.000 |
Slovan Bratislava or PAOK | 6.000 or 23.500 |
FCSB (Steaua) or Vitoria SC | 23.000 or 9.646 |
Linfield or Qarabag | 2.250 or 22.000 |
Feyenoord or Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 22.000 or 12.000 |
Espanyol or Zorya Luhansk | 20.713 or 11.500 |
Malmo or Bnei Yehuda | 20.000 or 3.725 |
Partizan Belgrade or Molde | 18.000 or 13.500 |
AEK Athens or Trabzonspor | 14.000 or 8.000 |
Rennes, who have already qualified but awaiting pot confirmation, will be a lower-ranked side to avoid after their flying start to the new domestic season in France.
Pot 3 or 4 | UEFA Club Coefficient |
Rennes | 11.699 |
Rosenborg | 11.500 |
Istanbul Basaksehir | 10.500 |
AZ Alkmaar or Royal Antwerp | 10.500 or 7.980 |
Oleksandriya | 7.780 |
Pot 4
For big clubs looking to reach the knockout stages with minimal strain, pot four is always about drawing a favourable team that doesn't involve a lengthy or hostile away trip.
Aaraat-Armenia would be the lowest ranked club in the whole group stage if they qualify, but a midweek away trip to Armenia is a major travel commitment.
Pot 4 | UEFA Club Coefficient |
LASK Linz | 6.250 |
Wolfsberger AC | 6.250 |
Lugano | 6.000 |
Cluj | 3.500 |
Suduva or Ferencvaros | 4.250 or 3.500 |
Aaraat-Armenia or F91 Dudelange | 1.050 or 6.250 |
Best Case Draw: Lugano
Worst Case Draw: Aaraat-Armenia
Once the draw is made, group stage fixtures will begin on 19 September and conclude 11 weeks later on 12 December, followed by the first knockout draw four days later.
