Europa League and Conference League draw date, time and TV channel as Hearts eye qualification

Hearts are guaranteed a spot in one of UEFA’s competitions this season, and here we have pulled together what you need know about the group stage draws.

Hearts will be eyeing a place in the Europa League as they gear up for their qualifying clash on Thursday night.

FC Zurich stand between Hearts and a place in the Europa League group stage, and the Swiss side currently lead the tie.

Robbie Neilson’s men are currently 2-1 down as they prepare for the second leg, which will be played at home.

If they can turn around the aggregate deficit, Hearts will play in the Europa League for the coming season.

But all is not lost if they don’t come out on top, with a Europa Conference League spot available should they lose.

With that in mind, we have rounded up all you need to know about the Europa League and Conference League draws.

When is the Europa League draw?

The Europa League group stage draw will take place in Istanbul on Friday, August 26.

The draw is scheduled to take place from 1pm UK time.

The Champions League draw is in Istanbul on Thursday, and UEFA chiefs will remain in Turkey for the draws for the Europa League and Conference League.

The draws will take place in Istanbul because the city will play host to this year’s Champions League final, one year later than planned.

When is the Europa Conference League draw?

The Europa Conference League group stage draw will immediately follow the Europa League draw.

It is scheduled for 1.30pm UK time, but could be a little later depending on whether the previous draws follows the schedule.

Are they on TV?

Yes, they are.

Both draws will be shown live on BT Sport 1.

UEFA will also stream the draws live on UEFA.com, YouTube and their social media channels.

How will the draws work?

With both draws, teams will be seeded into pots 1-4, with pot one being the strongest.

One team from each pot to make up the groups of four. Pot one teams will be put into their groups first, then two and so on.

Teams from the same country cannot be drawn into the same group.

Who will play in the Europa League?

With qualifiers still to play on Thursday, we have not yet got the full list of teams. Here are the confirmed participants so far.

Pot one: Roma, Manchester United, Arsenal, Lazio, Braga, Red Star Belgrade

United will be in the Europa League draw.

Pot one or two: Feyenoord

Pot two: Rennes, Monaco, Real Sociedad, PSV Eindhoven, Qarabag.

Pot two or three: Real Betis, Midtjylland, Bodø/Glimt.

Pot three: Union Berlin, SC Freiburg.

Pot three or four: Nantes, Sturm Graz.

Pot four: Trabzonspor, Union Saint-Gilloise

Who will play in the Conference League?

The Conference League’s qualifying system means we only know of one team to have qualified so far.

Swedish outfit Djurgårdens IF have already booked their spot, but the rest of the teams will be made up of qualifying stage winners and the losers of Europa League qualifiers.

Premier League club West Ham United and La Liga giants Villarreal are among the clubs who could be involved should they win their respective qualifiers.