With 20 clubs involved in the 2022/23 Europa League playoffs, there will be plenty of drama in store as they vie for the final 10 spots in the group stage. The draw for the Europa League playoffs will be held on Aug. 2, when teams learn their path to clinching a spot in the tournament proper.
Reaching the Europa League group stage is a big deal for many clubs, both in terms of revenue potential and international prestige. The winner of the Europa League not only claims a prestigious piece of silverware, but that club also clinches a berth in the following season's lucrative UEFA Champions League as well as a spot in the UEFA Super Cup.
The Europa League playoff draw will be held before the conclusion of the Europa League third round qualifiers and Champions League third round qualifiers. So the European governing body (UEFA) will get creative with the draw procedure for the playoffs (see full details further below).
Also involved in the Europa League playoff draw will be a selection of clubs that will drop into the competition after losing in the UEFA Champions League third-round of qualifying.
MORE: How the Europa League 3rd qualifying round is playing out
Europa League Playoff Round draw, fixtures, and schedule
The Europa League playoff round draw will take place on August 2, 2022 at 7 a.m. ET / 12 p.m. BST / 9 p.m. AEST. The draw will be streamed on UEFA.com, taking place shortly after the Champions League playoff round draw.
There will be 10 tickets to the Europa League group stage will be on the line in the playoff round.
The Europa League playoff will be handled differently from the UEFA Champions League playoffs which feature different paths for clubs that qualified in different ways. Instead, all teams will be placed into a single draw to be matched up together.
Europa League playoff teams will be placed into four pots: Pot 1 will have seven teams, Pot 2 will have six teams, Pot 3 will have five teams, and Pot 4 will have two teams. Here's how the pots will be drawn against one another:
| Pot 1 vs. Pot 4 | Aug. 18 | Aug. 25 |
| Pot 1 vs. Pot 4 | Aug. 18 | Aug. 25 |
| Pot 1 vs. Pot 3 | Aug. 18 | Aug. 25 |
| Pot 1 vs. Pot 3 | Aug. 18 | Aug. 25 |
| Pot 1 vs. Pot 3 | Aug. 18 | Aug. 25 |
| Pot 1 vs. Pot 3 | Aug. 18 | Aug. 25 |
| Pot 1 vs. Pot 3 | Aug. 18 | Aug. 25 |
| Pot 2 vs. Pot 2 | Aug. 18 | Aug. 25 |
| Pot 2 vs. Pot 2 | Aug. 18 | Aug. 25 |
| Pot 2 vs. Pot 2 | Aug. 18 | Aug. 25 |
The 10 aggregate-goal playoff winners advance to the Europa League group stage, where they will be joined by 22 other teams in the 32-team group stage:
- 12 teams that qualified via their domestic league or cup;
- 10 teams that drop down from the Champions League (six playoff round losers and four third-round qualifying losers)
Teams in the Europa League playoff round draw
Pot 1
All Pot 1 teams are locked into the Europa League playoff round, as they enter the competition at this stage via domestic league or cup qualification.
| Austria | Austria Wien | 3rd - Austrian Bundesliga |
| Belgium | KAA Gent | Winners - Belgian Cup |
| Denmark | Silkeborg IF | 3rd - Danish SuperLiga |
| Cyprus | Omonia | Winners - Cypriot Cup |
| Scotland | Heart of Midlothian | 3rd - Scottish Premiership |
| Turkey | Sivasspor | Winners - Turkish Cup |
| Ukraine | Dnipro-1 | 3rd - Ukrainian Premier League* |
* The 2021/22 Ukrainian Premier League season was suspended in February due to the Russian invasion, and subsequently abandoned. The table at the time of suspension was locked in as the final table for the league season.
Pot 2
Pot 2 is made up of six matchups from the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. Only the loser of these matchups will drop down into the Europa League playoffs.
It's worth noting that each club is the reigning league champion of its respective nation.
| FC Pyunik (Armenia) vs. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia) |
| Qarabag FK (Azerbaijan) vs. Ferencvaros (Hungary) |
| Ludogorets (Bulgaria) vs. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) |
| Maccabi Haifa (Israel) vs. Apollon Limassol (Cyprus) |
| Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova) vs. Viktoria Plzen (Czech Rep.) |
| Bodo/Glimt (Norway) vs. Zalgiris (Lithuania) |
Pot 3
Pot 3 consists of five Europa League third-round qualifying matchups. Only the winner of these matchups will participate in the Europa League playoffs.
Each club is the reigning league champion of its respective nation and only dropped into the Europa League after losing in the early Champions League qualifying rounds.
| Olympiacos (Greece) vs. Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) |
| Shamrock Rovers (Ireland) vs. Shkupi (N. Macedonia) |
| Linfield (N. Ireland) vs. FC Zurich (Switzerland) |
| Maribor (Slovenia) vs. HJK Helsinki (Finland) |
| Malmo FF (Sweden) vs. F91 Dudelange (Luxembourg) |
Pot 4
Pot 4 is made up of the two remaining Europa League third round qualifying matchups with only the winner advancing to the Europa League playoffs.
These two matchups feature two teams that dropped down from the earlier rounds of Champions League qualifying (AEK Larnaca and Fenerbahce), and two teams (Slovacko and Partizan Belgrade) that qualified directly into the Europa League third round based on their domestic league or cup achievements.
| AEK Larnaca (Cyprus) vs. Partizan Belgrade (Serbia) |
| Fenerbahce (Turkey) vs. Slovacko (Czech Rep.) |
How to watch UEFA Europa League 2022/23
| UK | BT Sport 1/BT Sport Ultimate | BT Sport app, BT Sport YouTube |
| USA | CBS, CBSSN, Univision/TUDN | fuboTV, Paramount+, ViX |
| Australia | 9Gem | Stan Sport |
| Canada | — | DAZN |
Select matches from the Europa League preliminary rounds are available for broadcast, chosen by the broadcast partner for each market.
Per UEFA, other select matches are made available for streaming by the home team, often via their official YouTube page.
Europa League schedule 2022/23
Preliminary and qualifying rounds schedule
The Europa League features only two qualifying rounds prior to the 32-team group stage.
| Third qualifying round | July 18, 2022 | Aug. 4, 2022 | Aug. 11, 2022 |
| Playoff round | Aug. 1, 2022 | Aug. 18, 2022 | Aug. 25, 2022 |
Group stage schedule
The draw for the 2022/23 Europa League group stage will take place on Aug. 26, 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey.
| 1 | Sept. 8, 2022 |
| 2 | Sept. 15, 2022 |
| 3 | Oct. 6, 2022 |
| 4 | Oct. 13, 2022 |
| 5 | Oct. 27, 2022 |
| 6 | Nov. 3, 2022 |
Knockout stage schedule
The draw for the 2022/23 Europa League knockout round playoffs will take place on Nov. 7, 2022, and the draw for the Round of 16 will take place on Feb. 24, 2022. The draw for the rest of the 2022/23 Europa League knockout rounds will take place on March 17, 2023.
The 2023 Europa League final will take place in Budapest, Hungary on May 31, 2023.
| Knockout Playoffs | Feb. 16, 2023 | Feb. 23, 2023 |
| Round of 16 | Mar. 9, 2023 | Mar. 16, 2023 |
| Quarterfinals | Apr. 13, 2023 | Apr. 20, 2023 |
| Semifinals | May 11, 2023 | May 18, 2023 |
| Final | May 31, 2023 | |
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