ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

2020–21 UEFA Europa League Group Stage

The 2020-21 UEFA Europa League group stage began on October 22, 2020, and concluded on December 10, 2020. This season marked the debut appearances for several clubs in the group stage, including Antwerp, Granada, Leicester City, Omonia, and Sivasspor.

The draw for the group phase was held on October 2, 2020, at the House of European Football. The teams were seeded into four baskets based on their position in the UEFA coefficients ranking at the end of the 2019-20 season. If a paired club was drawn, they would automatically be assigned to one of the first available groups (G, H, I, J, K, or L).

To avoid scheduling conflicts and ensure crowd control, teams from certain countries were not scheduled to play at home on the same matchday. The group stage fixtures were confirmed on October 2, 2020.

Participating Teams

A total of 48 clubs participated in the group stage, consisting of 17 teams that started with it, 21 winners of the playoff round, and 10 losers from the Champions League playoffs (four from champion qualification and six from non-champion qualification). The participating countries included Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia.

Group Stage Format

The group stage involved 12 groups of four teams each. The teams that took the first two places in their respective groups advanced to the playoffs. Teams were classified according to the number of points scored (3 points for victory, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for defeat). If points were equal, additional classification criteria applied:

* Points scored in personal meetings between teams
* Difference of goals scored and missed in personal meetings between teams
* Number of goals scored in personal meetings between teams
* Balls (goals) scored on the road in personal meetings between teams
* Difference of goals scored and missed in all group matches
* Number of goals scored in all group matches
* Balls (goals) scored on the road in all group matches
* Victories in all group matches
* Winning away in all group matches
* Disciplinary indicators
* UEFA coefficients