Ludogorets, LASK and Royal Antwerp in Europa League - fixture dates confirmed

We have been drawn against Bulgarian champions Ludogorets, Austrian side LASK and Royal Antwerp of Belgium in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League.

The group stage begins on Thursday 22 October - our fixture dates have now been confirmed as follows...

Thur 22 Oct - LASK (H) - kick-off 8pm UK
Thur 29 Oct - Royal Antwerp (A) - kick-off 5.55pm UK
Thur 5 Nov - Ludogorets (A) - kick-off 5.55pm UK
Thur 26 Nov - Ludogorets (H) - kick-off 8pm UK
Thur 3 Dec - LASK (A) - kick-off 5.55pm UK
Thur 10 Dec - Royal Antwerp (H) - kick-off 8pm UK

Having faced Bulgarian opposition for the first time when we beat Lokomotiv Plovdiv in the second qualifying round, we now face Ludogorets in the group stage. Champions of Bulgaria for nine successive seasons, Ludogorets lost to Danish side Midtjylland in Champions League qualifying. They then beat Dinamo Brest of Belarus in the Europa League play-off.

LASK beat Dunajská Streda of Slovakia 7-0 in the third qualifying round, then stunned Portuguese giants Sporting CP 4-1 in the play-off in Lisbon. LASK finished fourth in last season's Austrian Football Bundesliga.

Royal Antwerp qualified directly into the group stage after winning the Belgian Cup.

Five substitutes

From this stage onwards, teams will be permitted to field up to five substitutes in a Europa League match and name 12 substitutes on the bench. For knockout matches, a sixth substitution can also be made during extra time.

Each team may use a maximum of three stoppages in play to make substitutions – one additional stoppage in extra-time can be used. Substitutions made during half-time, between the end of normal playing time and extra-time, and at half-time during extra-time do not reduce the number of stoppages in play that can be used.