Europa League 2019: Matchday 1 Odds, Live Stream, TV Schedule and Predictions

The long path to UEFA Europa League glory begins on Thursday, when the group stages of the 2019-20 competition get under way.

There are some big names involved in the competition this season, with Manchester United and Arsenal high-profile representatives from the Premier League. The former welcome Astana to Old Trafford in their first match of the competition, while the Gunners face a challenging trip to Eintracht Frankfurt.

Elsewhere, La Liga leaders Sevilla travel to Qarabag, while Serie A giants Roma will host Istanbul Basaksehir.

Europa League Fixtures

Group A

5:55 p.m BST./12:55 p.m. ET Apoel Nicosia vs. Dudelange (2-0)

5:55 p.m BST./12:55 p.m. ET Qarabag vs. Sevilla (0-2)

Group B

5:55 p.m BST./12:55 p.m. ET Dynamo Kiev vs. Malmo (3-0)

5:55 p.m BST./12:55 p.m. ET Copenhagen vs. Lugano (1-0)

Group C

5:55 p.m BST./12:55 p.m. ET Basel vs. Krasnodar (2-1)

5:55 p.m BST./12:55 p.m. ET Getafe vs. Trabzonspor (1-0)

Group D

5:55 p.m BST./12:55 p.m. ET LASK vs. Rosenborg (1-1)

5:55 p.m BST./12:55 p.m. ET PSV Eindhoven vs. Sporting Lisbon (1-1)

Group E

5:55 p.m BST./12:55 p.m. ET CFR Cluj vs. Lazio (0-2)

5:55 p.m BST./12:55 p.m. ET Rennes vs. Celtic (2-1)

Group F

5:55 p.m BST./12:55 p.m. ET Frankfurt vs. Arsenal (2-2)

5:55 p.m BST./12:55 p.m. ET Standard Liege vs. Vitoria Guimaraes (2-1)

Group G 

8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET Porto vs. Young Boys (2-0)

8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET Rangers vs. Feyenoord (0-0)

Group H 

8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET Espanyol vs. Ferencvaros (3-0)

8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET Ludogorets vs. CSKA Moscow (1-2)

Group I

8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET Gent vs. Saint-Etienne (1-1)

8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET Wolfsburg vs. Oleksandria (3-1)

Group J

8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Wolfsberger (3-0)

8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET Roma vs. Istanbul Basaksehir (2-0)

Group K 

8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET Slovan Bratislava vs. Besiktas (1-1)

8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Braga (3-1)

Group L

8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET Manchester United vs. Astana (3-0)

8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET Partizan Belgrade vs. AZ Alkmaar (2-1)

Viewing Details: Matches are available via BT Sport and the BT Sport website in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the matches can be streamed through B/R Live.

Odds

Apoel Nicosia (8/25), Draw (4/1) Dudelange (19/2)

Qarabag (48/10), Draw (61/20), Sevilla

Dynamo Kiev (37/50), Draw (26/10), Malmo (4/1)

Copenhagen (53/100), Draw (32/10), Lugano (52/10)

Basel (23/20), Draw (5/2), Krasnodar (23/10)

Getafe (61/100), Draw (29/10), Trabzonspor (47/10)

LASK (11/10), Draw (24/10), Rosenborg (25/10)

PSV Eindhoven (19/20), Draw (11/4), Sporting Lisbon (27/10)

CFR Cluj (37/10), Draw (26/10), Lazio (77/100)

Rennes (11/10), Draw (9/4), Celtic (27/10)

Frankfurt (43/20), Draw (25/10), Arsenal (5/4)

Standard Liege (83/100), Draw (53/20), Vitoria Guimaraes (13/4)

Porto (1/2), Draw (13/4), Young Boys (55/10)

Rangers (13/10), Draw (47/20), Feyenoord (21/10)

Espanyol (33/100), Draw (41/10), Ferencvaros (85/10)

Ludogorets (16/10), Draw (22/10), CSKA Moscow (18/10)

Gent (12/10), Draw (49/20), Saint-Etienne (9/4)

Wolfsburg (9/50), Draw (25/4), Oleksandria (14/1)

Borussia Monchengladbach (3/10), Draw (5/1), Wolfsberger (75/10)

Roma (41/100), Draw (39/10), Istanbul Basaksehir (62/10)

Slovan Bratislava (26/10), Draw (49/20), Besiktas (21/20)

Wolverhampton Wanderers (61/100), Draw (59/20), Braga (46/10)

Manchester United (19/100), Draw (25/4), Astana (12/1)

Partizan Belgrade (29/20), Draw (47/20), AZ Alkmaar (19/10)

Odds courtesy of Caesars.

Manchester United vs. Astana

While Red Devils fans would likely prefer to be in the UEFA Champions League, their involvement in this competition will provide manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with a chance to give some of his young players an opportunity to impress.

After all, on Saturday against Leicester City, the United squad was stretched, with a number of key players absent due to injury. Following such a tough game, some fresh faces will likely come in against Astana.

For the clash with the Foxes, Tahith Chong, Angel Gomes and Mason Greenwood were all on the bench. Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News thinks the latter deserves a chance from the start:

Astana will be underdogs for the contest regardless of the XI fielded by Solskjaer, although they have shown they shouldn't be taken lightly. The Kazakhstan outfit got the better of BATE Borisov over two legs to advance to this stage.

Even so, the 6,000-mile trip is likely to yield zero points for Astana, with the stage set for some of the Red Devils' youthful jewels to shine.

Frankfurt vs. Arsenal

After making it to the final of the competition before losing to Chelsea last season, Arsenal will be looking to go one better this time around. Frankfurt, who were beaten by the Blues in the semi-finals of last term's tournament, represent a big challenge first up.

The Bundesliga side may not be as fearsome a prospect as last term, though, as they lost all three members of their potent attacking trio in the summer—Luka Jovic, Sebastien Haller and Ante Rebic all moved on.

Arsenal will still face a raucous atmosphere at Commerzbank-Arena, though, and it'll be intriguing to see what team manager Unai Emery selects after their disappointing 2-2 draw with Watford on Sunday. Per Duncan Alexander of Opta, so far this season the Gunners have been soft in defence:

In a boost for Arsenal, according to Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail, defender Rob Holding is ready to play some part in the fixture, having been out of action since December with a knee injury.

With Alexandre Lacazette injured, the in-form Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the only natural option to start in attack. The Gabon international has already netted five Premier League goals, and his predatory instincts will help Arsenal take a point from the clash in Germany.