Bayer 04 meet Celtic, Real Betis and Ferencváros

Bayer 04 have been in drawn an interesting group and the club has not faced any of the three opponents before.

Sporting managing director Rudi Völler: "This draw shows the appeal of the Europa League. I think our group is brilliant and there are great names in it. Our fans can look forward to that and hopefully enjoy a lot of success with us." And sporting director Simon Rolfes is also full of anticipation for the group stage to be played between September and December: "It's a really attractive group with strong teams. We look forward to the matches against such big clubs."

Celtic finished runners-up in the Scottish Premiership last season. After going out of the Champions League in the qualifying rounds, the team under Ange Postecoglou went through the Europa League qualifiers against FK Jablonec and AZ Alkmaar.

Real Betis qualified for the UEL by finishing sixth in La Liga. Ferencváros, this year coached by the former Bundesliga manager Peter Stöger, finished champions in the Hungarian top-flight last term. The team led by the 55-year-old are also in the Europa League after going out in the Champions League qualifiers. ​​​

"The opponents will pose a great challenge on the pitch and also be extremely attractive for our fans. It's a European cup and that's what you want from this competition. Our aim is to go through from this exciting group," said Bayer 04 head coach Gerardo Seoane. ​​​​

match dates

• Thursday, 16 September 2021
• Thursday, 30 September 2021
• Thursday, 21 October 2021
• Thursday, 4 November 2021
• Thursday, 25. November 2021
• Thursday, 9 December 2021

Fixtures kick off at 18.45 or 21.00 Central European Time. Match details will be announced by Saturday morning.