All you need to know about the 2023-24 Europa League

The 2023-24 Europa League season is edging ever closer.

With teams from all of Europe's top divisions dreaming of a famous continental success, here is all you need to know.

Europa League 2023-24 group stage draw

Group A

West Ham, Olympiacos, Freiburg, TSC Backa Topola

Group B

Ajax, Marseille, Brighton, AEK Athens

Group C

Rangers, Real Betis, Sparta Prague, Aris Limassol

Group D

Atalanta, Sporting, Sturm Graz, Rakow Czestochowa

Group E

Liverpool, LASK, Union Saint-Gilloise, Toulouse

Group F

Villarreal, Rennes, Maccabi Haifa, Panathinaikos

Group G

Roma, Slavia Prague, FC Sheriff, Servette

Group H

Bayer Leverkusen, Qarabag, Molde, BK Hacken

When are the 2023-24 Europa League group stage fixtures?

There will be six Europa League group stage matchdays in 2023-24.

Each will take place on a Thursday as has become tradition with the secondary continental competition, allowing the Champions League to take centre stage across the preceding Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

This season's matchdays are scheduled as follows:

Matchday 1: Thursday, September 21

Matchday 2: Thursday, October 5

Matchday 3: Thursday, October 26

Matchday 4: Thursday, November 9

Matchday 5: Thursday, November 30

Matchday 6: Thursday, December 14

When are the 2023-24 Europa League knockout draws?

Dates have also been confirmed for the draws of this year's various knockout stages.

Third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage will drop into the Europa League after Christmas, where they face a two-legged tie with one of the Europa League group stage's runners-up in what is known as the knockout round play-offs.

The eight sides who top their Europa League group will then re-enter the fray in the last 16, at which point each remaining club is only four ties away from glory.

Knockout draws for the 2023-24 Europa League are as follows:

Knockout round play-off draw: Monday, December 18, 2023

Last 16 draw: Friday, February 23, 2024

Quarter-finals and semi-finals draw: Friday, March 15, 2024

When are the 2023-24 Europa League knockout fixtures?

The knockout stages of the 2023-24 Europa League will take place across February, March, April and May.

Exact dates for each round are as follows:

Knockout round play-offs first legs: Thursday, February 15

Knockout round play-offs second legs: Thursday, February 22

Last 16 first legs: Thursday, March 7

Last 16 second legs: Thursday, March 14

Quarter-final first legs: Thursday, April 11

Quarter-final second legs: Thursday, April 18

Semi-final first legs: Thursday, May 2

Semi-final second legs: Thursday, May 9

When is the 2023-24 Europa League final?

The 2023-24 Europa League final will be held at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland on Wednesday, May 22, 2024.

It is the second time the stadium has hosted the competition's showpiece, having been the venue for 2011's all-Portuguese final between Porto and Braga.

That contest was settled by a single goal, with former Monaco and Atletico Madrid ace Radamel Falcao's header enough to see Porto lift the trophy.

Who won last season's Europa League?

The 2022-23 Europa League final saw Sevilla seal a record seventh success when beating Italian side Roma 4-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

Played at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, the Rojiblancos' trumph only further solidified their status as the most successful club in the history of the competition.