Liverpool set for face tough Europa League draw with Villarreal, Napoli among potential opponents
Thursday 27 August 2015 11:00, UK
Liverpool are set to be in pot two for Friday's Europa League group stage draw as they prepare to drop down the UEFA coefficients rank.
The Reds face the prospect of being drawn against opponents from pot one, which includes the likes of Schalke, Napoli, Marseille, Villarreal and Basel, who defeated them in last season's Champions League group stage.
Borussia Dortmund could also be a possible opponent for Brendan Rodgers' side, if they can get through their qualifying play-off on Thursday evening.
Tottenham will also go into pot one in the Europa League, but cannot play a team from their own country in the group stage, and therefore will avoid Liverpool and Southampton.
Liverpool are currently 11th in the Europa League ranking, with the highest 12 teams going into the favourable pot one, but their fate is in other clubs' hands going into the play-off second legs on Thursday.
Dortmund, Athletic Bilbao and Ajax could leapfrog Liverpool if they progress, though all three of their ties hang in the balance.
Dortmund are 4-3 up as they host Odd of Norway, Bilbao trail Zilina 3-2 ahead of their return leg in Spain, and Ajax are 1-0 up going into their game in Czech Republic to face Jablonec.
Rubin Kazan could also overtake the Reds. They face Macedonian side Rabotnicki having drawn 1-1 in the first encounter.
Liverpool have failed to progress past the last 16 of any European competition in the last five years. The coefficient is calculated from results in Europe since the beginning of the 2011/12 season.
The draw for the Europa League group stage will take place at midday UK time on Friday, August 28 in Monaco. Follow it with our live blog on skysports.com or via the Sky Sports apps.
