Who Crystal Palace could face in Europa League as draw nears | OneFootball

Crystal Palace will learn their Europa League opponents this week, their first appearance in the competition after lifting the Conference League last season. They had been due in the Europa League last term but were demoted to the Conference League after Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled they had breached multi-club ownership rules.

According to The Standard, the league phase draw is at 12pm BST on Friday, 28 August, with the Conference League draw following. This season’s 36-team field will be completed by seven clubs dropping from the Champions League play-offs and 12 Europa League play-off winners.

Seventeen teams have already qualified directly, with Palace entered automatically as Conference League holders. Bournemouth and Sunderland also join the draw after securing qualification through their league positions last season.

It is still to be confirmed, but Palace will be in either pot two or three, and their UEFA coefficient places them 85th. The ceremony will give each club eight opponents, two from each pot, and teams cannot face sides from their own country at this stage and can only play a maximum of two from a different association.

As it stands, possible pot one opponents are Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus, Milan, AZ Alkmaar and Olympiacos, with four more to be confirmed on Thursday evening. Real Sociedad, Marseille, Union Saint-Gilloise, Sparta Prague, Rennes, Sturm Graz, Celta Vigo, Hoffenheim and Torreense are also in range, with Union Saint-Gilloise in pot one or two, Sturm Graz in pot two or three, and Celta Vigo, Hoffenheim and Torreense in pot three or four.

Source: The Standard

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”