Tottenham Hotspur will return to the Europa League for the first time since the 2020/21 season. The North London club will discover their opponents shortly as the draw for the competition takes center stage this week. This is now a very exciting moment for Spurs fans, who will be hopeful and in anticipation of the European campaign.
New Europa League Format
This year’s Europa League brings a different element of competition, with the absence of the usual group stages—a league phase takes over. The format means teams will be ranked in one league table. Every team will play eight games: four at home and four away. Based on that, their performance in those games will determine its position in the league and further qualification into the knockout rounds.
First, only the top eight teams at the group stage will automatically find themselves in the Round of 16 knockouts. From the 9th placed to the 24th, they will go through a no-punches-pulled knockout playoffs where only the very best make it through to the next stage. Unlike previous years, the clubs that do not make this cut will not fall into the UEFA Conference League. This sets a new level of competitiveness, with every match fought going to matter even more.
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Details of the Draw
The draw for the Europa League is set to take place on Friday, August 30, 2024, in Monte Carlo, Monaco. The proceedings start at 12 pm BST. Fans will also be able to watch the draw live on various channels and digital platforms offering sports coverage, with live text coverage available on leading sports websites.
This will see Tottenham in Pot 1, where they will not face any of the English rivals, a factor that also sees them avoid Manchester United. They will be grouped with two teams from each pot, but they can only play a maximum of two teams from any single country. This could bring about some exciting and challenging matchups for the Spurs.
Potential Opponents for Tottenham
Tottenham will get any one of the teams from four different pots. Teams they do not get to face off against in Pot 1 would be similar-level seeds like Man United, Roma, FC Porto, Rangers, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Lazio. Possible opponents from Pot 2 could be other well-known teams like Olympiacos and Lyon.
Grouped with contenders from Pots 3 and 4, challenges might come from Malmo, Athletic Club, Hoffenheim, Nice, and Twente, among others, with the list also showing the presence of teams like Ludogorets Razgrad, Petrocub, RFS or APOEL, and A.
Other teams whose pots are yet to be determined but could also face Tottenham include Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, Dynamo Kyiv, Red Star Belgrade or Bodo/Glimt, Lille or Slavia Prague, Dinamo Zagreb or Qarabag, Midtjylland or Slovan Bratislava, Ajax or Jagiellonia Bialystok, and many more. This wide range of potential opponents sets the stage for a highly competitive and unpredictable Europa League season.
Match Schedule for Europa League
The fixtures for the league phase of the Europa League are already set up with the matches stretched across several months:
- Matchday 1: 25/26 September 2024
- Matchday 2: 3 October 2024
- Matchday 3: 24 October 2024
- Matchday 4: 7 November 2024
- Matchday 5: 28 November 2024
- Matchday 6: 12 December 2024
- Matchday 7: 23 January 2025
- Matchday 8: 30 January 2025
These will be massive games that can have a strong influence on Tottenham’s future in the competition, for every game is a possibility to make big steps toward the top of the table.
Tottenham’s Back in Europe
As Tottenham gears itself up to make a mark once more on the Europa League, excitement begins to build in the hearts of supporters. This is a season teeming with excitement over the new format, the proper line-up of potential opponents in the competition, and a promise of engaging matches awaiting. At the moment, all attention is shifted to Monaco, as that is where the draw will take place that sets the stage for Tottenham’s European adventure.
KaranRathod