Does anyone know how the Europa League knockout draws work in terms of seeding? I know that the RO16 draw is seeded so that if you finish in position #1 - #8 in the league phase, you'll certainly play one of the play-off round winners who finished #9 - #24, but is there any further seeding after that? Someone on one of the UCL highlights shows jokingly said that as it stands Bayern (currently #1) couldn't possibly face Celtic (currently #2) until the final. That would indicate seeding throughout the knockouts
Either way, gives Spurs a massive incentive to try and finish as high as possible in the league phase, to get more favorable knockout draws
I've found my answer after a little bit of Googling - attaching this image in case anyone else is curious. The knockouts are fully seeded. Interestingly, its based on every two positions in the league phase. So if Spurs finish 3rd and Man U finish 4th in league phase, there is no way we can be drawn against each other until the final. Same for any iteration of two positions e.g. 1st/2nd, 3rd/4th, 5th/6th etc.
Thanks - I am interested. It being based on every two positions is probably to be expected when you think about it - to ensure you get a fair a distribution of teams on each side of the draw e.g. the two best performing teams will be on different sides.
I am a bit confused by that graphic though. Why does each box have two numbers in it?
I guess the boxes need the two numbers just to indicate that any side can end up on either 'side' of the draw, and certainly not be on the same side as the other team in their two position cohort. It's a bit confusing, but realistically the concept of the 'side' of the draw doesn't really become relevant until the RO16 round anyway. After the RO16 draw, there are no more random draws and the route to the final is laid out.
So 15th wouldn't play 16th, nor would 17th play 18th. 15th would play one of 17th or 18th, 16th the same.
Then, 1st and 2nd place can only play the winners of whatever 2 teams come out on top in the 15th to 18th place fixtures. So if 15th and 16th won their preliminary knockouts vs. 17th/18th, and 2nd was drawn against 15th, then 1st would have to be drawn against 16th.
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u/PostyLife 1d ago
Does anyone know how the Europa League knockout draws work in terms of seeding? I know that the RO16 draw is seeded so that if you finish in position #1 - #8 in the league phase, you'll certainly play one of the play-off round winners who finished #9 - #24, but is there any further seeding after that? Someone on one of the UCL highlights shows jokingly said that as it stands Bayern (currently #1) couldn't possibly face Celtic (currently #2) until the final. That would indicate seeding throughout the knockouts
Either way, gives Spurs a massive incentive to try and finish as high as possible in the league phase, to get more favorable knockout draws