Although the regulations no longer require the use of regional groups (as used before 2009), UEFA still uses some kind of regionalization in CL-Q2 and EL-Q1. At first the clubs are divided into seeded and unseeded teams, and then the seeded and unseeded teams are split into regional groups. The general approach seems to use the North/Central/South scheme, but no specific rules are known.
The clubs defeated in the 1st and 2nd qualifying rounds are eliminated from the competition. The 15 clubs defeated in the 3rd qualifying round are entitled to play in the 4th qualifying round of the Europa League, and the 10 clubs defeated in the 4th qualifying round are entitled to play in the group stage of the Europa League. The 3rd and 4th qualifying rounds are split into two sections: one for champions and one for non-champions.
The Champions League title holder Chelsea did not already qualify for the Champions League, and therefore the 4th English team, Tottenham Hotspur, has to take part in the Europa League group stage since the maximum number of clubs from one country in the Champions League is 4. This implies that the 3rd team of the 6th country on the ranking list (Sporting Braga, Portugal) and the 2nd team of the 7th country on the ranking list (Spartak Moscow, Russia) have direct access to the 4th qualifying round of the Champions League.
| 1st Qualifying Round (6 teams) |
|---|
Seeded teams coef. Unseeded teams coef. ------------------------ --- ------- ------------------------ --- ------- Linfield Belfast Nir 2.766 Tre Penne Sma 0.933 F91 Dudelange Lux 2.716 FC Lusitanos And 0.700 Valletta FC Mlt 2.616 B36 Torshavn Far 0.533 |
Unseeded teams in the 1st qualifying round that qualify for the next round take effectively the coefficient of their opponent in the next round. The reason for this is that the draw for the 2nd qualifying round is made before the results of the 1st qualifying round are known.
| 2nd Qualifying Round (34 teams) |
|---|
Seeded teams coef. Unseeded teams coef. ------------------------ --- ------- ------------------------ --- ------- FC Basel Sui 53.360 Shamrock Rovers Irl 4.475 BATE Borisov Bls 29.641 Hapoel Kiryat Shmona Isr 4.400 FC Salzburg Aut 29.265 Molde FK Nor 3.935 Dinamo Zagreb Cro 24.774 Zeljeznicar Sarajevo Bos 3.683 MSK Zilina Svk 14.974 KR Reykjavik Isl 3.566 Partizan Belgrade Srb 14.350 Ludogorets Razgrad Bul 2.850 Helsingborg IF Swe 12.680 The New Saints Wal 2.799 Sheriff Tiraspol Mol 9.849 Linfield Belfast * Nir 2.766 DVSC Debrecen Hun 7.950 F91 Dudelange * Lux 2.716 NK Maribor Slo 6.424 Valletta FC * Mlt 2.616 FK Ventspils Lat 5.674 Buducnost Podgorica Mon 2.375 Slovan Liberec Cze 5.570 Flora Tallinn Est 2.283 Slask Wroclaw Pol 5.483 Neftchi Baku Azb 2.241 HJK Helsinki Fin 5.326 Shakhtyor Karaganda Kaz 1.816 AEL Limassol Cyp 5.099 Skënderbeu Korçë Alb 1.783 Ekranas Panevezys Lit 4.875 Vardar Skopje Mac 1.133 FC Zestafoni Geo 4.733 Ulisses Yerevan Arm 0.941 |
UEFA did not publish any info on Q2 draw groups,
and there was no live coverage of the draw event. Apparently, the draw
groups were as follows:
Group 1
seeded: BATE Borisov, MSK Zilina, DVSC Debrecen, NK Maribor, AEL Limassol
unseeded: Hapoel Kiryat Shmona, Zeljeznicar Sarajevo, (Linfield Belfast), Skënderbeu Korçë, Vardar Skopje
Group 2
seeded: FC Basel, FC Salzburg, Helsingborg IF, FK Ventspils, HJK Helsinki, Ekranas Panevezys
unseeded: Shamrock Rovers, Molde FK, KR Reykjavik, The New Saints, (F91 Dudelange), Flora Tallinn
Group 3
seeded: Dinamo Zagreb, Partizan Belgrade, Sheriff Tiraspol, Slovan Liberec, Slask Wroclaw, FC Zestafoni
unseeded: Ludogorets Razgrad, (Valletta FC), Buducnost Podgorica, Neftchi Baku, Shakhtyor Karaganda, Ulisses Yerevan
Unseeded teams in the 2nd qualifying round that qualify for the next round take effectively the coefficient of their opponent in the next round: F91 Dudelange replaced the seeded team FC Salzburg (29.265), Hapoel Kiryat Shmona replaced the seeded team MSK Zilina (14.974), Molde FK replaced the seeded team FK Ventspils (5.674), and Neftchi Baku replaced the seeded team FC Zestafoni (4.733). The reason for this is that the draw for the 3rd qualifying round is made before the results of the 2nd qualifying round are known.
| 3rd Qualifying Round for Champions (20 teams) |
|---|
Seeded teams coef. Unseeded teams coef. ------------------------ --- ------- ------------------------ --- ------- FC Basel ** Sui 53.360 Sheriff Tiraspol ** Mol 9.849 Anderlecht Bel 48.480 DVSC Debrecen ** Hun 7.950 Celtic Sco 32.728 NK Maribor ** Slo 6.424 BATE Borisov ** Bls 29.641 Molde FK ** Nor (5.674) F91 Dudelange * Lux (29.265) Slovan Liberec ** Cze 5.570 Dinamo Zagreb ** Cro 24.774 Slask Wroclaw ** Pol 5.483 CFR Cluj Rom 18.764 HJK Helsinki ** Fin 5.326 Hapoel Kiryat Shmona ** Isr (14.974) AEL Limassol ** Cyp 5.099 Partizan Belgrade ** Srb 14.350 Ekranas Panevezys ** Lit 4.875 Helsingborg IF ** Swe 12.680 Neftchi Baku ** Azb (4.733) |
For the draw of the 3rd round for Champions the 20 teams are divided into 2 groups of 10 teams:
Group 1
seeded: Anderlecht, (BATE Borisov), (FC Salzburg), CFR Cluj, (Helsingborg IF)
unseeded: (DVSC Debrecen), (NK Maribor), (Slovan Liberec), (Slask Wroclaw), (Ekranas Panevezys)
Group 2
seeded: (FC Basel), Celtic, (Dinamo Zagreb), (MSK Zilina), (Partizan Belgrade)
unseeded: (Sheriff Tiraspol), (FK Ventspils), (HJK Helsinki), (AEL Limassol), (FC Zestafoni)
| 3rd Qualifying Round for Non-Champions (8 teams) |
|---|
Seeded teams coef. Unseeded teams coef. ------------------------ --- ------- ------------------------ --- ------- Dinamo Kiev Ukr 62.026 Club Brugge Bel 35.480 Panathinaikos Gre 50.920 FC Vaslui Rom 13.764 FC København Den 46.505 Feyenoord Ned 12.603 Fenerbahçe Tur 41.310 Motherwell Sco 6.728 |
| 4th Qualifying Round for Champions (10 teams) |
|---|
Seeded teams coef. Unseeded teams coef. ------------------------ --- ------- ------------------------ --- ------- FC Basel ** Sui 53.360 CFR Cluj *3 Rom 18.764 Anderlecht *3 Bel 48.480 Helsingborg IF ** Swe 12.680 Celtic *3 Sco 32.728 NK Maribor ** Slo 6.424 BATE Borisov ** Bls 29.641 AEL Limassol ** Cyp 5.099 Dinamo Zagreb ** Cro 24.774 Hapoel Kiryat Shmona ** Isr 4.400 |
| 4th Qualifying Round for Non-Champions (10 teams) |
|---|
Seeded teams coef. Unseeded teams coef. ------------------------ --- ------- ------------------------ --- ------- Sporting Braga Por 63.069 Fenerbahçe *3 Tur 41.310 Dinamo Kiev *3 Ukr 62.026 Udinese Ita 38.996 Panathinaikos *3 Gre 50.920 Lille OSC Fra 38.835 FC København *3 Den 46.505 Málaga CF Esp 16.837 Spartak Moscow Rus 46.066 Borussia Mönchengladbach Ger 15.037 |
Once the 4th qualifying round (or play-off round) has been completed, the 32 remaining clubs are drawn into eight groups of four. Clubs from the same association will not be drawn into the same group. A computer draw determines the final position of the teams within their group. These positions determine the order of the home and away matches. The following match sequence applies:
1st match day: 2 v 3 4th match day: 1 v 3
4 v 1 4 v 2
2nd match day: 1 v 2 5th match day: 3 v 2
3 v 4 1 v 4
3rd match day: 3 v 1 6th match day: 2 v 1
2 v 4 4 v 3
See 2006 draw procedure announced and
2008 group-stage draw
for more details of the group stage draw.
| Group Stage (32 teams) |
|---|
Pot 1 coef. Pot 2 coef. ------------------------ --- ------- ------------------------ --- ------- Chelsea (TH) Eng 135.882 Valencia Esp 89.837 FC Barcelona Esp 157.837 Benfica Por 87.069 Manchester United Eng 141.882 Shakhtar Donetsk Ukr 84.026 Bayern München Ger 133.037 Zenit St. Petersburg Rus 79.066 Real Madrid Esp 121.837 Schalke 04 Ger 78.037 Arsenal Eng 113.882 Manchester City Eng 63.882 FC Porto Por 98.069 Sporting Braga *4 Por 63.069 AC Milan Ita 89.996 Dinamo Kiev *3 Ukr 62.026 Pot 3 coef. Pot 4 coef. ------------------------ --- ------- ------------------------ --- ------- Olympiakos Piraeus Gre 61.420 Celtic *3 Sco 32.728 Ajax Ned 58.103 Borussia Dortmund Ger 31.037 Anderlecht *3 Bel 48.480 BATE Borisov ** Bls 29.641 Juventus Ita 46.996 Dinamo Zagreb ** Cro 24.774 Spartak Moscow *4 Rus 46.066 CFR Cluj *3 Rom 18.764 Paris Saint-Germain Fra 45.835 Málaga CF *4 Esp 16.837 Lille OSC *4 Fra 38.835 Montpellier Fra 11.835 Galatasaray Tur 38.310 FC Nordsjælland Den 8.005 |
The eight group-winners and eight runners-up of the group stage qualify for the second round. The clubs that finish this stage in third position in their group move into the third round of the current Europa League. The clubs that finish this stage in fourth position in their group are eliminated.
The draw for the 2nd round takes the following rules into account:
a) Clubs from the same association must not be drawn against each other,
b) The winners and runners-up of the same group must not be drawn against each other,
c) The group winners must not be drawn against each other,
d) The runners up must not be drawn against each other,
e) The runners up must play the first leg at home.
The group winners are seeded above the runners-up.
See 2008 CL 2nd round draw procedure for more details.
| Round 2 (16 teams) |
|---|
1st in CL group 2nd in CL group ------------------------ --- ------------------------ --- Paris Saint-Germain Fra FC Porto Por Schalke 04 Ger Arsenal Eng Málaga CF *4 Esp AC Milan Ita Borussia Dortmund Ger Real Madrid Esp Juventus Ita Shakhtar Donetsk Ukr Bayern München Ger Valencia Esp FC Barcelona Esp Celtic *3 Sco Manchester United Eng Galatasaray Tur |
For the draw of the quarter-finals and semi-finals no clubs will be seeded.
KEY:
| * | = | team started in 1st qualifying round |
| ** | = | team started in 2nd qualifying round |
| *3 | = | team started in 3rd qualifying round |
| *4 | = | team started in 4th qualifying round |