What to watch in the first round of the UEFA Europa Conference League | UEFA European Conference League

West Ham, Villarreal, Nice and Cologne are among the teams looking to kick off the UEFA Europa Conference League campaign with three points on Thursday night.

In this article brought to you by Enterprise, we capture some key points before the first few matches.

Thursday 8 September
Group A: Hearts – Istanbul BasaksehirAnd the Fiorentina – RFS
group b: Anderlecht SilkeborgAnd the West Ham – FCSB
group C: Villarreal – WhyAnd the Vienna Austria – e. Beersheba
group d: Slovacko – PartizanAnd the Nice – Cologne
Group E: Vaduz – Apollon LimassolAnd the Dnipro-1 – Alkmaar
F . group: Mold – GentAnd the Shamrock Rovers – Djurgarden
Group G: Balkany – CFR ClujAnd the Sivasspor – Slavia Prague
group h: Basel – BionicAnd the Slovan Bratislava – Zalgiris

what do you see

West Ham faces FCSB
West Ham manager David Moyes was excited after the group stage draw. The East London side are preparing to play in Europe once again after reaching the Europa League semi-finals last season. “I am very happy that we are back in Europe,” Moyes said. “For West Ham to be in Europe for two years in a row is fantastic.”

FCSB coach Nikolai Decaux is also happy that his players can experience football at this level. The Romanian team surrendered to qualify for this competition last year, but is now ready for the prestigious trip to the English capital. “They need to know what it will be like when you play with 50-60,000 fans in the stands,” he said. Let’s hope so.

Villarreal wants to shine
The European champions of the 2020/21 season, led by Unai Emery, reached the Champions League semi-finals for the second time last season. Their seventh-place finish in La Liga has led them to the European Conference League, and Emery will be among the favorites to win the tournament, having also won the Europa League three times during his time with Sevilla.

Lech Poznan looks set for a tough night in Spain, but John van den Broom’s side have proven themselves after playing eight European qualifying matches this summer, and the Dutch coach is excited about the next challenge: “It’s a big thing for me, for the team and for the whole club.” The railway workers have already managed to get out of the group stage in the European League / European Cup twice, and they can pull off a surprise.

Clashes between Nice and Cologne
The representatives of France and Germany meet in Group D, but only fans with a good memory can remember Nice’s previous meeting against Cologne. The two teams met in the third round of the European Union Cup 1973/74. The Eagles won 1-0 at Stade du Ray before losing to Germany, losing the second leg 4-0.

Nice, which includes former Premier League stars Kasper Schmeichel, Aaron Ramsey and Nicolas Pepe, is managed by Lucien Favre, whose successful spell with Borussia Mönchengladbach ended on September 19, 2015 in a 1-1 loss to Cologne. For his part, Cologne coach Stephen Baumgart expressed his enthusiasm for the campaign: “Our fans will be excited for these matches, just as we are.”

Later
• Slavia Prague will host Kosovar Balkany in the second round. This will be the first match in the group stage this season at the Eden Arena, with the Slavia Stadium hosting the final on June 7, 2023.

• Fiorentina starts at home against the Latvian champions, but can look forward to a bigger challenge the next day when they visit a team from Istanbul’s famous Basaksehir that includes former Arsenal and Real Madrid player Mesut Ozil.

• Old world magic will be present in the third round when Anderlecht host West Ham in the return leg of the 1976 European Cup Winners’ Cup Final. On that day, the Belgian team won 4-2 in Brussels and achieved their first UEFA title.

Where will the 2023 European League final be held?

The Eden Arena in Prague, in the Czech Republic, has been chosen to host this season’s UEFA Europa League Final on June 7, 2023.

The 2013 UEFA Super Cup was held at the Eden Arena, where Bayern defeated Chelsea 5-4 on penalties after a 120-minute 2-2 draw, and two years later in the European Super Cup final. The penalty shootout was also reached, as Sweden beat Portugal 4-3.