Maccabi Tel Aviv were drawn in Group I with Spanish side Villarreal CF, Qarabag of Azerbaijan and Turkish outfit Sivasspor following the draw which took place at UEFA’s Headquarters in Nyon Switzerland.
This will be the second time Maccabi will face Villarreal as the Spanish side which is situated in the Castellon region, and coached by Unai Emery played against Maccabi during the last Europa League campaign in 2017. Maccabi held Villarreal to a 0-0 draw at Netanya in 28.9.17 before winning the reverse fixture 1-0 at the Estadio de la Ceramica thanks to a Nick Blackman goal on 7.12.17.
Azerbaijan champions Qarabag, who were drawn from Pot 2 are the dominant force in their country having won their domestic league title in the past 8 seasons. In the 2017/18 season, Qarabag qualified to the Champions League group stages yet struggled in a group which included Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and Roma. Turkish outfit Sivasspor finished last season fourth in the Turkish Super Lig but this season are currently 12th having won 1, drawn 1 and lost 1 from the league matches they had played.
Group stages matches begin on October 22nd and will be played as a round-robin home and away fixtures until December 10th. (Fixtures to be confirmed).
Group stage match-days:
MD1: October 22nd
MD2: October 29th
MD3: November 5th
MD4: November 26th
MD5: December 3rd
MD6: December 10th
Group A: Roma (ITA), BSC Young Boys (SUI), CFR Cluj (ROU), CSKA Sofia (BUL)
Group B: Arsenal (ENG), Rapid Vienna (AUT), Molde (NOR), Dundalk (IRE)
Group C: Bayer Leverkusen (GER), Slavia Prague (CZE), Hapoel Be’ersheva (ISR), Nice (FRA)
Group D: Benfica (POR), Standard Liège (BEL), Rangers (SCO), Lech Poznań (POL)
Group E: PSV Eindhoven (Ned), PAOK (GRE), Granada (SPA), Omonoia Nicosia (CYP)
Group F: Napoli (ITA), Real Sociedad (SPA), AZ Alkmaar (NED), Rijeka (CRO)
Group G: Sporting Braga (POR), Leicester City (ENG), AEK Athens (GRE), Zorya Luhansk (UKR)
Group H: Celtic (SCO), Sparta Prague (CZE), AC Milan (ITA), Lille (FRA)
Group I: Villarreal (SPA), Qarabağ (AZE), Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR), Sivasspor (TUR)
Group J: Tottenham Hotspur (ENG), PFC Ludogorets (BUL), Lask (AUT), Royal Antwerp (BEL)
Group K: CSKA Moscow (RUS), Dinamo Zagreb (CRO), Feyenoord (NEL), Wolfsberg (AUT)
Group L: KAA Gent (BEL), Red Star Belgrade (SRB), Hoffenheim (GER), Slovan Liberec (SVK)
