Europa League Draw 2019-20: Schedule of Dates for Group-Stage Fixtures

Premier League powerhouse Manchester United will be confident of advancing to the 2019-20 UEFA Europa League knockout stages after the groups were drawn in Monaco on Friday.

United will meet Astana, Partizan Belgrade and AZ Alkmaar in Group L. Last season's runners-up, Arsenal, face a more difficult task topping Group F ahead of Eintracht Frankfurt, Standard Liege and Vitoria.

Italian rivals AS Roma and Lazio were drawn in Groups J and E, respectively, while Scottish nemeses Celtic and Rangers were allocated in Groups E and G.

Wolverhampton Wanderers return to the main stages of European competition for the first time since 1980 after securing qualification through the play-offs on Thursday. Their first continental campaign in almost four decades will see them go up against Besiktas, Braga and Slovan Bratislava in Group K.

Here are the 2019-20 Europa League groups:

The group-stage matchdays are September 19, October 3, October 24, November 7, November 28, and December 12, 2019 (all Thursdays). Visit the UEFA website to view fixtures in full.

Arsenal might have hoped for an easier draw as far as their schedule goes, with Eintracht especially looking likely to threaten after they advanced to last season's semi-finals.

Reporter Simon Collings pointed out the trips to Germany, Belgium and Portugal at least make for a simple schedule as far as the journeys go:

The Gunners will be somewhat disgruntled to be in this competition after coming so close to qualifying for the UEFA Champions League, losing last season's Europa League final to Chelsea.

United's draw looks routine on paper, and Pot 4 entrants AZ Alkmaar arguably look like the biggest threat ahead of Astana and Partizan Belgrade.

OptaJoe highlighted that the Red Devils have experienced some trouble with Dutch outfits in recent meetings:

Still, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Co. will fancy their chances of progressing and some potential opportunities to rest players in the winter if they wrap up qualification ahead of time.

Five-time winners Sevilla enter the competition alongside Getafe and Espanyol hoping they can regain Spain's former dominance in Europe.

No country has more clubs present in this season's Europa League than Portugal, however, and sports writer Tom Kundert dissected some intriguing fixtures:

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard will find the road to European success difficult, with Porto, Feyenoord and Young Boys blocking the route in Group G.

Old Firm rivals Celtic don't have it any easier against Lazio, Rennes and CFR Cluj, the team they lost to in the penultimate round of UEFA Champions League qualifying earlier in August.

Hoops manager Neil Lennon said he was looking forward to the tests to come:

With holders Chelsea busy elsewhere, this year's contenders now know who stands in their way as they look to lay down early markers in the competition.