Europa League Draw 2015: Date, Seeds, TV and Live Stream Info for Group Stage
The draw for this season's Europa League group stage takes place on Friday as 48 of Europe's elite outfits wait to discover who they'll meet in the first round of the 2015-16 tournament.
Among those taking part in the draw are last season's Europa League runners-up Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, five-time European Cup champions Liverpool and many more clubs boasting considerable pedigree.
Teams will be drawn into 12 groups of four from four seeded pots based on their respective UEFA club coefficients, with the only restriction being that clubs from the same association cannot be drawn against one another.
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Read on for all the viewing information needed to ensure you catch Friday's draw from UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, along with discussion of several heavy contenders heading into the new campaign.
Date: Friday, August 28
Time: 4:45 p.m. BST/11:45 a.m. ET
Live Stream: Official UEFA website
TV Info: BT Sport Europe (UK)
| Schalke | Besiktas | Monaco | Groningen |
| Napoli | Viktoria Plzen | Sparta Prague | Sion |
| Tottenham Hotspur | PAOK | Bordeaux | Asteras |
| Villarreal | Liverpool | Fenerbahce | Rosenborg |
| Marseille | Club Brugge | Lokomotiv Moscow | Molde |
| Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk | Celtic | Lech Poznan | Qarabag |
| Sporting | Anderlecht | Saint-Etienne | Midtjylland |
| Ahletic Bilbao | Lazio | Slovan Liberec | Skenderbeu |
| Ajax | Braga | Augsburg | Gabala |
| Basel | Fiorentina | Rapid Wien | Partizan |
| Dortmund | AZ | Legia Warsaw | Dinamo Minsk |
| Rubin Kazan | APOEL | Krasnodar | Belenenses |
Villarreal Fighting for La Liga Pride
Sevilla's back-to-back Europa League triumphs over the past two seasons helped Spain claim a vise-like grip over all European matters of late—the second time the club has won successive continental titles in its history.
La Liga will be glad to see five of its teams in the Champions League, but their odds have been shortened in the Europa League, with Villarreal fighting to make it three titles in a row for Spanish representatives.
Tom Collomosse of the London Evening Standard recently compared the strength of the Premier League against that of La Liga, asserting the teams who place third-to-sixth in Spain are superior to their English counterparts:
It's difficult to ascertain where the Yellow Submarine sit in terms of strength this season, having seen numerous stars leave their borders this summer, including Luciano Vietto, Giovani dos Santos and Javier Aquino.
However, the club could have made a shrewd signing in Tottenham Hotspur reject Roberto Soldado, who scored on his debut to help Villarreal draw 1-1 at Real Betis last Saturday, earning praise from the Mirror's Alex Richards:
Three of the last four Europa League crowns have been claimed by Spanish clubs, and La Liga appears to be enjoying a rich vein of form in producing continental winners over recent years.
That being said, having more teams in Europe's premier competition could come back to bite Spain this time around, with Villarreal facing a battle against the odds to ensure they can maintain Spain's streak.
Liverpool's Divided Responsibilities
It's a question nearly as old as European competition itself: How does a club spread its resources in a tournament it may or may not necessarily value as being all that important?
Such is the conundrum facing Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers once again this season as the Reds prepare for another term in the continent's second-most prestigious club tournament.
It's far from where many at Anfield wish their side to be, and after being ousted from the Champions League at the group stage last season, domestic matters may take priority this season.
Empire of the Kop suggests Rodgers will indeed focus on the Premier League and domestic cup competition, suggesting a secondary team for Liverpool to make use of in Europe:
In some ways, looking upon the Europa League with less worth may come to benefit the squad as a whole considering many players under Rodgers will feel they should be regular starters anyway.
That opportunity for playing time against some of Europe's best and brightest will yield a useful proving ground for some while also limiting injuries and fitness concerns among the more valued players.
