Birmingham’s latest Aston Villa newsLive coverage of the Villans’ UEFA Europa Conference League group stage opponents.
Aston Villa have identified their Europa Conference League group stage opponents.
Unai Emery’s team has been drawn in Group E against AZ Alkmaar, Legia Warsaw, and HK Zrinjski. Matches will be played between September 21 and December 14, with the group winners automatically qualifying for the knockout stages in February.
The final will be held on May 29, 2024, at the Agia Sofia Stadium in Athens. The winner will receive a trophy as well as a berth in the Europa League group stages the following season if they have not qualified for the Champions League through their domestic league.
Alkmaar AZ
The Dutch team qualified for this year’s edition after defeating FC Santa Coloma and Brann in the qualifying stages, with the latter winning on penalties. After two games, they are presently second in their local league.
Last season, Alkmaar reached the event’s semi-finals before losing in two legs to eventual winners West Ham. They were defeated 3-1 on aggregate by David Moyes’ club.
Legia also had to battle their way through qualifying, beating Danish side FC Midtjylland on penalties to secure a place in the group stages.
Warsaw are second in Poland’s top division after four games and are the most successful club side in Polish football history, having won a record 15 Ekstraklasa championships and a record 20 Polish Cups.
Zrinjski, H.K.
Zrinkjski of Bosnia and Herzegovina is presently sixth in their local league, having played two fewer games than league leaders NK Siroki Brijerg.
Zrinkjski qualified for this year’s edition despite losing 3-2 on aggregate to Austrian team LASK in the Europa League’s final qualifying round.
