No thread yet. I'm guessing people don't have the same enthusiasm for the qualifiers / this competition that I do. I've mostly been talking to myself in the Conference League thread Anyway, tomorrow is the final round of qualifying. The draw for the group stages is then on Friday so it's a big week in this competition. With the new format, this has the potential to be one of the strongest Europa League's for quite some time and could even see a really interesting group stage for a change. There's a very good chance that Leicester will enter the competition as second seeds and West Ham as third seeds so they'll both face opposition with quality in the side. Celtic and Rangers qualifying would add some further interest to it. Completely forgetting the CL dropouts after Christmas, I think this will be a really good competition to watch this year and the new format might actually see the attitude towards this competition change. Ordinarily I'd say it's a given that English clubs get out of their groups but that may no longer be the case, really interested to see how the rest of the qualifiers pan out and then what the draw on Friday brings. Anyone else fussed? Leicester, West Ham, Celtic, Rangers fans? Edit* Final is in Seville so Sevilla might be doing their best to finish third in their CL group.
Guessing McGregor and Kent were 2 of rangers covid cases. Hope Celtic get the first goal tonight or we could come unstuck against Alkmaar
Good to see both Scottish sides in, both pot 2 with Leicester so no Rodgers / Celtic / Gerrard story just yet. West Ham in pot 3 along with some other decent sides. Hopefully it's a good draw tomorrow for the Brits.
Looking at the teams who qualified this looks like the most interesting EL group phase in years/decades. Not a single team or city I've never heard of and on first glance no real shit teams. Sent from my M2002J9G using Tapatalk
Absolutely. It should actually make the group stages watchable this year. I usually find them a chore but there'll be some pretty strong groups and consequently a pretty strong knockout too - that's before the CL sides even enter.
Absolutely buzzing btw, 2 seasons in a row in Europe for Antwerp. Last season was heartbreaking because of no fans and the tie with Spurs but even yesterday against a team from Cyprus the atmosphere was insane, sadly couldn't get tickets in time but should have some possibly amazing fixtures for Antwerp. Going to be very hard since the team had an overhaul and 2 new managers since we were in the EL last season but as long as we're competitive just being in the EL and watching is play attractive teams is an amazing experience. The only club I kinda want to avoid is Monaco since they dont have any fans. Sent from my M2002J9G using Tapatalk
The favourites are always going to be from one of the big 4 leagues, the English are usually favoured early on. Ultimately as Beelz suggests, the actual favourite probably isn't even in the competition yet. Would be good to see Leicester go far in it though. I did keep one eye on your score yesterday. Given Antwerp are in pot 4 you should get at least 2 decent ties, if not 3.
Group A: Lyon, Rangers, Sparta Prague, Brondby Group C: Napoli, Leicester, Spartak Moscow, Legia Warsaw Group G: Bayer Leverkusen, Celtic, Real Betis, Ferencvaros Group H: Dynamo Zagreb, Genk, West Ham, Rapid Wien Group D: Olympiakos, Frankfurt, Fenerbache, Antwerp Nice enough draw for Rangers and some nice away trips too. Good draw for Leicester as far as progression is concerned but some horrible away trips as far as the fans are concerned. Naples and Warsaw will be lively.. Tricky draw for Celtic but some great away trips at least. Great draw for West Ham. They'll fancy topping that and some nice away trips in there too. Added Antwerp for @BeeLz benefit
Two favourites drawn together same as the CL draw amusingly enough. *tin foil hat on* I knew these draws were rigged, they need big group stage matches to head off the superleague interest from people who say they're a chore *tin foil hat off*
There are some teams/groups that wouldn’t look out of place in the Champions league . I wonder if Arsenal are the biggest European regulars not in Europe this season ?
Think West Ham will expect 18 points from their group to be honest, only complacent performances will stop them. Good start for Leicester.
