August 27, (THEWILL) – Following from the draw of the UEFA Champions League on Thursday, UEFA has organised the draw for the 2021/2022 Europa League group stages. The ceremony of the groupings took place in Istanbul on Friday at 11am and saw Kelechi Iheanacho’s Leicester City billed to clash against Victor Osimhen’s Napoli.
The pair of Super Eagles forwards are scheduled to go against each other having been drawn in Group C of the Europa competition for the year to make for interesting Thursday night football to look forward to, especially for Nigerian fans who have remained supportive of the country’s players.
It will see the ever reliable Wilfred Ndidi of Leicester attempt to stop the pacy strides that Osimhen is known for, from his position in the defensive midfield, while Iheanacho will be looking for those cracks to exploit in the Napoli defense for the goals to give the Foxes the points they will need to advance.
However, that will be only a part of the story because also in Group C is the Russian side Spartak Moscow where Nigeria’s Victor Moses plies his trade in the Russian top division. The implication is that Moses will clash against both Ndidi and Iheanacho in Leicester while also slugging it out with Osimhen in the exciting competitive Europa League for the season.
After the conclusion of the qualifying rounds, the teams were split into four pots that took cognisance of each side’s 2021 UEFA Club coefficients and kept sides from the same association from being drawn against each other.
Some teams like West Ham were making their inaugural Europa League group stage appearances and the impressive David Moyes’ side was drawn in Group H against Nigeria Super Eagles Paul Onuachu’s Racing Genk of Belgium, Dinamo and Rapid Wien.
The Scottish champions Rangers will battle against Lyon, Sparta Prague and Brondby with a quartet of Nigerian stars representing Rangers in Joe Aribo, Leon Balogun, Nnamdi Ofoborh and Uche Ughelumba to give Steven Gerrard a chance to advance beyond Group A.
Here is the full draw for the 2021/22 Europa League group stage
Group A
Lyon, Rangers, Sparta Prague, Brondby
Group B
Monaco, PSV Eindhoven, Real Sociedad, Sturm Graz
Group C
Napoli, Leicester, Spartak Moscow, Legia Warsaw
Group A
Olympiacos, Eintracht Frankfurt, Fenerbahce, Royal Antwerp
Group E
Lazio, Lokomotiv Moscow, Olympique Marseille, Galatasaray
Group F
Braga, Red Star Belgrade, Ludogorets, FC Midtjyllland
Group G
Bayer Leverkusen, Celtic, Real Betis, Ferencvaros
Group H
Dinamo, Genk, West Ham, Rapid Wien
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
