As the Europa League will be operating with a bracket system, potential opponents are also pre-defined by pairing of teams' final league positions. For example, teams finishing ninth and 10th will face the sides that came 23rd or 24th, with those in 11th and 12th coming up against the teams that placed 21st and 22nd in the league standings.

The stakes in the final Europa League matches on Thursday at 20:00 GMT are identical to that of the UEFA Champions League. The top eight teams will head straight into the last 16 on 6 and 13 March, while the teams placed ninth to 24th face a two-legged playoff on 13 and 20 February.