Europa League and Conference League draw: As they happened

Just like the Champions League draw, it's all change for the Europa League this time around. Fortunately, we'll be on hand to guide you through the process.

The English representation comes in the form of last season's FA Cup winners Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, who finished fifth in the Premier League. Rangers are also in the Europa League - they managed to reach the third qualifying round of the Champions League, but lost 3-1 on aggregate to Dynamo Kiev and thus drop into UEFA's second-tier competition. 

It promises to be like no draw we've ever had. This should be fun…

How to watch along

Not to do ourselves out of a job, because we're sure if you're here for the draw it's because you either love FourFourTwo very deeply (and why wouldn't you) or because you have a reason you can't just watch along.

But if you're in the UK want to have it on in the background, it will be shown on the TNT Sports YouTube channel from 12pm BST.

Here are the pots for today:

Pot 1

Roma
Manchester United
Porto
Ajax
Rangers
Eintracht Frankfurt
Lazio
Tottenham Hotspur
Slavia Prague

Pot 2

Qarabag
Galatasaray
Viktoria Plzen
Bodo/Glimt
Union Saint-Gilloise
Dynamo Kyiv
Ludogorets
Midtjylland
Malmo

Pot 3

Real Sociedad
AZ Alkmaar
Braga
Olympiacos
Lyon
PAOK
Fenerbahce
Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC
Ferencvaros

Pot 4

Athletic Bilbao
Hoffenheim
Nice
Anderlecht
FC Twente
Beşiktas
FCSB
FC RFS
IF Elfsborg

English expectations?

Manchester United and Tottenham will both enter the Europa League confident, perhaps even expecting, to go all the way to the final at Estadio de San Mames in Bilbao.

Indeed, with no teams dropping down from the Champions League (and no Sevilla in the Europa League) both United and Spurs are among the strongest sides in the competition. The Red Devils last won the Europa League in 2016/17, while Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou could see this as a great opportunity to land his first piece of silverware - and the club’s first since 2008.

How the draw works 

UEFA seem to revel in making these things as laborious as possible, so while there's literally no reason they couldn't just generate all the fixtures and release them into the wild now it's all computer-generated anyway, we're going to get a very long, drawn out procedure today.

It works like this: they're going to draw out one team at a time using physical balls (leave it), announce who it is, and then show us the fixtures the computer has come up with.

We presume they are doing this 95% to create a sense of ceremony that we're supposed to be impressed by but in reality all just find achingly tedious, and 5% to assuage people who don't understand what 'random' means unless they see a load of balls being swirled around in a plexiglass bowl.

Each side will play two random sides from each pot, including their own pot, for a total of eight games. They will be a mix of home and away games, which will also be randomly determined.

The only element that isn't random is that nobody will be playing any sides from their own country, and nobody will be playing more than two sides from any one country.

How is qualification from the league phase determined?

All the results from all the league phase games will go into a fat 36-team league table.

At the end of it all, the top eight sides will go straight into the round of 16, while those who finish between 9th and 16th will be allocated two-legged play-off games against the sides who finish from 17th to 24th.

The winners of those play-off games will then join the teams who finished 1st-8th in the round of 16.

See? Simple.

And it's live!

Right, let's get into this. We're expecting some typical UEFA guff for a bit, but after that the draw will start. 

As we saw in the Champions League draw yesterday, a team from Pot 1 will be drawn first, with the computer then generating their eight fixtures thereafter. Once all the Pot 1 teams have been drawn, the focus will then be on Pot 2 and so on. 

Rangers are first out!

They will play:

Tottenham Hotspur (H)
Manchester United (A)
Lyon (H)
Olympiacos (A)
Union-Saint Gilloise (H)
Malmo (A)
FCSB (H)
Nice (A)

Some great British games there!

Roma next

Frankfurt (H)
Tottenham (A)
Braga (H)
AZ (A)
Dynamo Kiev (H)
Union SG (A)
Athletic Bilbao (H)
Elsborg (A)

Eintracth Frankfurt are out

Slavia Prague (H)
Roma (A)
Ferencvaros (H)
Lyon (A)
Viktoria Plzen (H)
Midtjylland (A)
RFS (H)
Besiktas (A)

Porto up next

Manchester United (H)
Lazio (A)
Olympiacos (H)
Maccabi Tel-Aviv (A)
Midtjylland (H)
Bodo/Glimt (A)
Hoffenheim (H)
Anderlecht (A)

Slavia Prague:

Ajax (H)
Frankfurt (A)
Fenerbahce (H)
PAOK (A)
Malmo (H)
Ludogorets (A)
Anderlecht (H)
Athletic Bilbao (A)

And Manchester United are now out

Rangers (H)
Porto (A)
PAOK (H)
Fenerbahce (A)
Bodo/Glimt (H)
Viktoria Plzen (A)
Twente (H)
FCSB (A)

Spurs are now being drawn

Roma (H)
Rangers (A)
AZ (H)
Ferencvaros (A)
Qarabag (H)
Galatasaray (A)
Elfsborg (H)
Hoffenheim (A)

Lazio up now

Porto (H)
Ajax (A)
Real Sociedad (H)
Braga (A)
Ludogorets (H)
Dynamo Kiev (A)
Nice (H)
Twente (A)

The final team from Pot 1, Ajax:

Lazio (H)
Slavia Prague (A)
Maccabi Tel-Aviv (H)
Real Sociedad (A)
Galatasaray (H)
Qarabag (A)
Besiktas (H)
RFS (A)

Pot 2 team, now. And it's Maccabi Tel-Aviv first 

Porto (H)
Ajax (A)
Real Sociedad (H)
Braga (A)
Midtjylland (H)
Bodo/Glimt (A)
RFS (H)
Besiktas (A)

Fenerbahce:

Mancheter United (H)
Slavia Prague (A)
Lyon (H)
AZ (A)
Union SG (H)
Midtjylland (A)
Athletic Bilbao (H)
Twente (A)

Ferencvaros

Tottenham (H)
Frankfurt (A)
AZ (H)
PAOK (A)
Malmo (H)
Dynamo Kiev (A)
Nice (H)
Anderlecht (A)

PAOK

Slavia Prague (H)
Manchester United (A)
Ferencvaros (H)
Real Soceidad (A)
Viktoria Plzen (H)
Galatasaray (A)
FCSB (H)
RFS (A)

Braga 

Lazio (H)
Roma (A)
Maccabi Tel-Aviv (H)
Olympiacos (A)
Bodo/Glimt (H)
Union SG (A)
Hoffenheim (H)
Elfsborg (A)

Real Sociedad

Ajax (H)
Lazio (A)
PAOK (H)
Maccabi Tel-Aviv (A)
Dynamo Kiev (H)
Viktoria Plzen (A)
Anderlecht (H)
Nice (A)

Olympiacos 

Rangers (H)
Porto (A)
Braga (H)
Lyon (A)
Qarabag (H)
Malmo (A)
Twente (H)
FCSB (A)

AZ

Roma (H)
Tottenham (A)
Fenerbahce (H)
Ferencvaros (A)
Galatasaray (H)
Ludogorets (A)
Elfsborg (H)
Athletic Bilbao (A)

Lyon

Frankfurt (H)
Rangers (A)
Olympiacos (H)
Fenerbahce (A)
Ludogorets (H)
Qarabag (A)
Besiktas (H)
Hoffenheim (A)

It's the halfway stage now. And, in case you missed it, that's Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce up against Manchester United. That'll be spicy...

The first Pot 3 team out is Union SG

Roma (H)
Rangers (A)
Braga (H)
Fenerbahce (A)
Bodo/Glimt (H)
Midtjylland (A)
Nice (H)
Twente (A)

Ludogorets next

Slavia Prague (H)
Lazio (A)
AZ (H)
Lyon (A)
Midtjylland (H)
Viktoria Plzen (A)
Athletic Bilbao (H)
Anderlecht (A)

Malmo now

Rangers (H)
Slavia Prague (A)
Olympiacos (H)
Ferencvaros (A)
Galatasaray (H)
Qarabag (A)
Twente (H)
Besiktas (A)

Galatasaray

Tottenham (H)
Ajax (A)
PAOK (H)
AZ (A)
Dynamo Kiev (H)
Malmo (A)
Elfsborg (H)
RFS (A)

Dynamo Kiev

Lazio (H)
Roma (A)
Ferencvaros (H)
Real Sociedad (A)
Viktoria Plzen (H)
Galatasaray (A)
RFS (H)
Hoffenheim (A)

Midtjylland

Frankfurt (H)
Porto (A)
Fenerbahce (H)
Maccabi Tel-Aviv (A)
Union SG (H)
Ludogorets (A)
Hoffenheim (H)
FCSB (A)

Qarabag

Ajax (H)
Tottenham (A)
Lyon (H)
Olympiacos (A)
Malmo (H)
Bodo/Glimt (A)
FCSB (H)
Elfsborg (A)

Bodo/Glimt

Porto (H)
Manchester United (A)
Maccabi Tel-Aviv (H)
Braga (A)
Qarabag (H)
Union SG (A)
Besiktas (H)
Nice (A)

Viktoria Plzen 

Manchester United (H)
Frankfurt (A)
Real Sociedad (H)
PAOK (A)
Ludogorets (H)
Dynamo Kiev (A)
Anderlecht (H)
Athletic Bilbao (A)

Pot 4 now: Besiktas

Frankfurt (H)
Ajax (A)
Maccabi Tel-Aviv (H)
Lyon (A)
Malmo (H)
Bodo/Glimt (A)
Athletic Bilabo (H)
Twente (A)

Hoffenheim

Tottenham (H)
Porto (A)
Lyon (H)
Braga (A)
Dynamo Kiev (H)
Midtjylland (A)
FCSB (H)
Anderlecht (A)

Twente now

Lazio (H)
Manchester United (A)
Fenerbahce (H)
Olympiacos (A)
Union SG (H)
Malmo (A)
Besiktas (H)
Nice (A)

Elfsborg

Roma (H)
Tottenham (A)
Braga (H)
AZ (A)
Qarabag (H)
Galatasaray (A)
Nice (H)
Athletic Bilbao (A)

Athletic Bilbao

Slavia Prague (H)
Roma (A)
AZ (H)
Fenerbahce (A)
Viktoria Plzen (H)
Ludogorets (A)
Elfsborg (H)
Besiktas (A)

Anderlecht

Porto (H)
Slavia Prague (A)
Ferencvaros (H)
Real Sociedad (A)
Ludogorets (H)
Vikotria Plzen (A)
Hoffenheim (H)
RFS (A)

FCSB

Manchester United (H)
Rangers (A)
Olympiacos (H)
PAOK (A)
Midtjylland (H)
Qarabag (A)
RFS (H)
Hoffenheim (A)

Nice 

Rangers (H)
Lazio (A)
Real Sociedad (H)
Ferencvaros (A)
Bodo/Glimt (H)
Union SG (A)
Twente (H)
Elfsborg (A)

And, finally: RFS

Ajax (H)
Frankfurt (A)
PAOK (H)
Maccabi Tel-Aviv (A)
Galatasaray (H)
Dynamo Kiev (A)
Anderlecht (H)
FCSB (A)

Phew, that's us all caught up there

To recap, here's who the British teams will play:

Manchester United:

Rangers (H)
Porto (A)
PAOK (H)
Fenerbahce (A)
Bodo/Glimt (H)
Viktoria Plzen (A)
Twente (H)
FCSB (A)

Tottenham:

Roma (H)
Rangers (A)
AZ (H)
Ferencvaros (A)
Qarabag (H)
Galatasaray (A)
Elfsborg (H)
Hoffenheim (A)

Rangers:

Tottenham Hotspur (H)
Manchester United (A)
Lyon (H)
Olympiacos (A)
Union-Saint Gilloise (H)
Malmo (A)
FCSB (H)
Nice (A)

Now, onto the Conference League

It’s not over yet! The Conference League draw will start soon, so keep tuned to our live updates. So go grab some lunch, you've got until 1.30pm BST until the draw starts. 

British Isles representation

For the first time ever, a team from England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland will be competing in the same European competition at the same time this season, with Chelsea, The New Saints, Hearts, Larne and Shamrock Rovers all in the Conference League. 

Chelsea will be hoping to go furthest (and probably win it all) but there’s still a great opportunity for some upsets for the other sides. 

The Conference League pots are as follows: 

Pot 1

Chelsea
Copenhagen
Gent
Fiorentina
LASK
Real Betis

Pot 2

Başakşehir
Molde
Legia Warszawa
Heidenheim
Djurgården
APOEL

Pot 3

SK Rapid
Omonoia
Helsinki
Vitória SC
Astana
Olimpija

Pot 4

Cercle Brugge
Shamrock Rovers
The New Saints
Lugano
Hearts
Mladá Boleslav

Pot 5

Petrocub
St. Gallen
Panathinaikos
TSC
Borac
Jagiellonia

Pot 6

Celje
Larne
Dinamo-Minsk
Pafos
Víkingur R.
Noah

Cheers, UEFA

Because UEFA likes to be difficult, things have been made slightly more complicated for the Conference League. Instead of four pots of nine teams, the Conference League draw actually has six pots of six teams.

That’s because there will only be six matchdays for the competition, rather than eight like in the Champions League and Europa League. That means picking up points in the league system is even more important, with things expected to be a lot tighter for automatic qualification to the knockout rounds. 

And we're back. It's time for the Conference League draw

You'll notice that it's no longer called the 'Europa Conference League' anymore, as an aside. Just the Conference League - so at least UEFA has learned how to simplify something.

Right, we're underway. And Gent are the first side drawn

They will play:

Chelsea (A)
Molde (H)
Omonia (H)
Lugano (A)
TSC (H)
Larne (A)

Next up, Chelsea

Gent (H)
Heidenheim (A)
Astana (A)
Shamrock Rovers (H)
Panathinaikos (A)
Noah (H)

Copenhagen 

Real Betis (A)
Basaksehir (H)
SK Rpaid (A)
Hearts (H)
Jagiellonia (H)
Dinamo-Minsk (A)

Fiorentina

LASK (H)
APOEL (A)
Vitoria SC (A)
TNS (H)
St Gallen (A)
Pafos (H)

Real Betis now

Copenhagen (H)
Legia Warsaw (A)
Helsinki (H)
Mlada Boleslav (A)
Petrocub (A)
Celje (H)

LASK 

Fiorentina (A)
Djugarden (H)
Olimpja (A)
Cercle Brugge (H)
Borac (A)
Vikingur R (H)

Pot 2 now, with Basaksehir out first

Copenhagen (A)
Heidenheim (H)
SK Rapid (H)
Cercle Brugge (A)
Petrocub (H)
Celje (A)

Djurgarden

LASK (A)
Legia Warsaw (H)
Vitoria SC (H)
TNS (A)
Panathinaikos (H)
Vikingur R. (A)

Legia Warsaw 

Real Betis (H)
Djugarden (A)
Omomia (A)
Lugano (H)
TSC (A)
Dinamo-Minsk (H)

APOEL

Fiorentina (H)
Molde (A)
Astana (H)
Shamrock Rovers (A)
Borac (H)
Noah (A)

Molde are next out

Gent (A)
APOEL (H)
Helsinki (A)
Mlada Boleslav (H)
Jagiellonia (A)
Larne (H)

Heidenheim

Chelsea (H)
Basaksehir (A)
Olimpija (H)
Hearts (A)
St. Gallen (H)
Pafos (A)

Pot 3: Helsinki

Real Betis (A)
Molde (H)
Olimpija (H)
Lugano (A)
Panathinaikos (A)
Dinamo-Minsk (H)

Olimpija 

LASK (H)
Heidenheim (A)
Helsinki (A)
Cercle Brugge (H)
Jagiellonia (A)
Larne (H)

Omonia 

Gent (A)
Legia Warszawa (H)
SK Rapid (H)
Hearts (A)
Borac (A)
Vikingur R. (H)

Astana 

Chelsea (H)
APOEL (A)
Vitoria SC (H)
TNS (A)
TSC (H)
Pafos (A)

Vitoria SC 

Fiorentina (H)
Djugarden (A)
Astana (A)
Mlada Boleslav (H)
St. Gallen (A)
Celje (H)

SK Rapid 

Copenhagen (H)
Basaksehir (A)
Omonia (A)
Shamrock Rovers (H)
Petrocub (A)
Noah (H)

Pot 4 is next up

Cercle Brugge

LASK (A)
Basaksehir (H)
Olimpija (A)
Hearts (H)
St. Gallen (H)
Vikingur (A)

Shamrock Rovers

Chelsea (A)
APOEL (H)
SK Rapid (A)
TNS (H)
Borac (H)
Larne (A)

The New Saints (TNS)

Fiorentina (A)
Djugarden (H)
Astana (H)
Shamrock Rovers (A)
Panathinaikos (H)
Celje (A)

Hearts

Copenhagen (A)
Heidenheim (H)
Omonia (H)
Cercle Brugge (A)
Petrocub (H)
Dinamo-Minsk (A)

Mlada Boleslav

Real Betis (H)
Molde (A)
Vitoria SC (A)
Jagiellonia (H)
Noah (A)

Lugano

Gent (H)
Legia Warszawa (A)
Helsinki (H)
Mlada Boleslav (A)
TSC (A)
Pafos (H)

Pot 5 now

St. Gallen 

Fiorentina (H)
Heidenheim (A)
Vitoria SC (H)
Cercle Brugge (A)
TSC (H)
Larne (A)

Panathinaikos 

Chelsea (H)
Djugarden (A)
Helsinki (H)
TNS (A)
Borac (A)
Dinamo-Minsk (H)

TSC

Gent (A)
Legia Warszawa (A)
Astana (A)
Lugano (H)
St. Gallen (A)
Noah (H)

Borac

LASK (H)
APOEL (A)
Omonia (H)
Shamrock Rovers (A)
Panathinaikos (H)
Vikingur R. (A)

Petrocub

Real Betis (H)
Basaksehir (A)
SK Rapid (H)
Hearts (A)
Jagiellonia (A)
Pafos (H)

Jagiellonia 

Copenhagen (A)
Molde (H)
Olimpija (H)
Mlada Boleslav (A)
Petrocub (H)
Celje (A)

Pafos

Fiorentina (A)
Heidenheim (H)
Astana (H)
Lugano (A)
Petrocub (A)
Celje (H)

Celje 

Real Betis (A)
Basaksehir (H)
Vitoria SC (A)
TNS (H)
Jagiellonia (H)
Pafos (A)

Dinamo-Minsk

Copenhagen (H)
Legia (A)
Helsinki (A)
Hearts (H)
Panathinaikos (A)
Larne (H)

Larne 

Gent (H)
Molde (A)
Olimpija (A)
Shamrock Rovers (H)
St. Gallen (H)
Dinamo-Minsk (A)

Vikingur R.

LASK (A)
Djugarden (H)
Omonia (A)
Cercle Brugge (H)
Borac (H)
Noah (A)

Noah

Chelsea (A)
APOEL (H)
SK Rapid (A)
Mlada Boleslav (H)
TSC (A)
Vikingur R. (H)

And that's your lot!

So, to recap, Chelsea will play:

Gent (H)
Heidenheim (A)
Astana (A)
Shamrock Rovers (H)
Panathinaikos (A)
Noah (H)

The clear standout tie of the Conference League, however, has to be Larne vs Shamrock Rovers, with the Northern Irish side hosting the Republic of Ireland team.

Thanks for joining us for the Europa League and Conference League draws!