UEFA Europa League: City’s Fifth European Journey
The Foxes return to European competition for the first time since their UEFA Champions League campaign in 2016/17 after finishing fifth in the Premier League last season.
During that campaign, they emerged through the group stage and round of 16 to reach the quarter-finals of the competition, eventually exiting at the hands of Atlético Madrid.
While City have participated in the UEFA Cup on two occasions (1997/98 and 2000/01), this is the Club's first entry into the UEFA Europa League in its current format.
What's next?
Although Leicester City are not required to participate at this stage, four qualification rounds and one play-off process will take place between 20 August and 1 October.
As well as 12 domestic cup winners, one domestic league fourth-placed team and four domestic league fifth-placed teams (including Leicester City), there will be 21 play-off winners and 10 teams who were eliminated from UEFA Champions League qualification in the UEFA Europa League's group stage.
The seeded draw of 48 teams will be staged in Athens, Greece, on 2 October.
The six group stage matchdays, consisting of home and away ties, will be scheduled, subject to change, for the following days:
Matchday 1 - 22 October, 2020
Matchday 2 - 29 October, 2020
Matchday 3 - 5 November, 2020
Matchday 4 - 26 November, 2020
Matchday 5 - 3 December, 2020
Matchday 6 - 10 December, 2020
Video Assistant Referee (VAR), meanwhile, will not be introduced for the group phase.
What about the knockout stages?
If Leicester City progress beyond the group stage, there will be four rounds between them and the final, which will be staged at Poland's Gdańsk Stadium on 26 May, 2021. Twelve group winners and 12 runners-up, plus eight third-placed teams in UEFA Champions League groups, will initially participate in the round of 32. Then, there will be a round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final. All knockout ties, apart from the final, will be two legged and played at each sides' home venue.
The draws for each stage will be conducted at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, on:
Round of 32 draw - 14 December, 2020
Round of 16 draw - 26 February, 2021
Quarter-final and semi-final draws - 19 March, 2021
They are scheduled to take place, subject to change, between:
Round of 32 - 18 February, 2021 – 25 February, 2021
Round of 16 - 11 March, 2021 – 18 March, 2021
Quarter-finals - 8 April, 2021 – 15 April, 2021
Semi-finals - 29 April, 2021 – 6 May, 2021
Final - 26 May, 2021
This means the competition 'proper' will occur between 22 October, 2020 and 26 May, 2021.
Unlike the group stages, VAR will be introduced in knockout fixtures.
All matchday arrangements are subject to change.
What's the prize in the final?
As well as the glory of European silverware, the winners of the UEFA Europa League will qualify automatically for the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League.
The UEFA Europa League victors are also entered into the UEFA Super Cup, won in 2019/20 by Liverpool, in which they will face the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League winners.