Turkish Süper Lig minnows Sivasspor was paired with Spain's Villareal in the Europa League Group I, along with Azerbaijan's Qarabag and Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv, following Friday's draw at UEFA headquarters.
After Galatasaray's exit from the Europa League following a 2-1 defeat at Scotland's Rangers, Sivasspor became the only Turkish team left in the competition, while Süper Lig champion Başakşehir will continue its European campaign in the Champions League.
Sivasspor was granted a direct ticket to the Europa League from group stages after the Anatolian side finished the previous Süper Lig season in fourth place, which is normally a spot eligible for qualification rounds, but after second-placed Trabzonspor was handed a one-year ban by UEFA for breaching financial fair play rules (FFP), all teams below were moved up a rank.
The group stage begins Oct. 22 and runs through Dec. 10. UEFA said last week that games postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic can be made up until Jan. 28.
Games can be moved to a neutral country if virus cases or travel restrictions prevent the home team from hosting or the away team from traveling to the original venue. Home fans can attend games at up to 30% of a stadium's capacity with approval from domestic public authorities, UEFA said Thursday. No tickets will go to the away teams.
Ahead of the draw ceremony at UEFA headquarters, Inter Milan forward Romelu Lukaku was named the best player in the Europa League last season. Lukaku scored seven goals in six games, including in the 3-2 loss to Villareal in the final.
In other pairings, seven-time European champion AC Milan was drawn to face Celtic, Sparta Prague and Lille in Group H.
Milan was the last of the 48 teams to reach the group stage after a wild, 24-penalty shootout in Portugal against Rio Ave, which eliminated Istanbul club Beşiktaş in the previous stage.
In the rain-swept shootout, three Rio Ave players failed even to get on target with penalties that could have won the match. Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma later made a decisive save that led to the victory.
Milan, which last won the Champions League in 2007, came from the pot of third-seeded teams. Scottish champion Celtic was the top-seeded team.
Arsenal, the Europa League runner-up in 2019, is the highest-ranked team in the competition and was grouped with Rapid Vienna, Molde and Dundalk. North London rival Tottenham will face LASK, Ludogorets Razgrad and Royal Antwerp.
Roma is the top-seeded team in a group with two clubs that started the season in the Champions League – Young Boys and Cluj. CSKA Sofia is also in that group.
Serie A side Napoli will take on La Liga's Sociedad in Group F alongside Alkmaar of the Netherlands and Rijeka of Croatia.