The Foxes' Possible European Opposition In 2021/22
The group stage draw for the 2021/22 tournament will commence on Friday with the draw coming from Istanbul in Turkey - and you can follow live coverage on LCFC.com and @LCFC social media.
After topping their group, Brendan Rodgers’ side reached the last 32 last season. Here’s a look at some of the other teams in the draw that the Foxes could face throughout the competition…
Among the automatic entrants, alongside Leicester City, are fellow Premier League outfit West Ham United, who finished sixth in the top-flight last season, one point behind the Foxes. The Foxes, however, will not face English opposition in the group stage of this season's competition.
From Spain, meanwhile, Real Sociedad and Real Betis have taken their spots in the group stage after finishing fifth and sixth respectively in La Liga last season. Sociedad also qualified for the competition in 2020/21, progressing through their group as runners-up to reach the knockout stages.
Los Txuri-Urdin's best European performance came from reaching the semi-finals of the 1982/83 European Cup, beaten by eventual winners Hamburger SV. Real Betis, on the other hand, finished sixth in La Liga last term, aided by the 13-goal haul of Spanish striker Borja Iglesias.
From Italy, 1989 UEFA Winners Napoli are one of two sides to qualify, after Gennaro Gattuso's Gli Azzurri missed out on UEFA Champions League qualification by the narrowest of margins in 2020/21, finishing one point below fourth-placed Juventus in Serie A.
Now managed by former Roma and Inter Milan manager Luciano Spalletti, Napoli began their new domestic season with a 2-0 win over Venezia F.C.
Lazio, on the other hand, are also under new management following the appointment of Maurizio Sarri in June after a sixth-placed finish for the two-time Italian champions last season. In 2020/21, a run to the last 16 of the Champions League included wins over Borussia Dortmund and Zenit Saint Petersburg.
Gerardo Seoane's Bayer Leverkusen are one of two representatives from Germany after exiting last term's Europa League at the Round of 32 stage, losing out 6-3 on aggregate to Swiss outfit Young Boys. Eintracht Frankfurt, who finished fifth in the Bundesliga, are the other German representatives.
City could also come up against one of three French outfits in 2021/22. A fourth-placed finish in Ligue 1 earned Olympique Lyonnais a return to European competition as Memphis Depay's 22 goals in all competitions, before joining Barcelona, saw Les Gones go close to Champions League qualification.
Elsewhere, Marseille, despite finishing bottom of a Champions League group including Manchester City, nonetheless secured sixth place in France's top division under the management of Jorge Sampaoli. Monaco are also in the Europa League after missing out in Champions League qualifying this summer.
Braga (Portugal), PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands), Lokomotiv Moskva, Spartak Moscow (Russia), Genk (Belgium), Midtjylland, Brøndby (Denmark), Sparta Prague (Czech Republic), Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia), Ludogorets (Bulgaria) and Ferencváros (Hungary) complete the group-stage picture at present. Sides including Fenerbahçe, Rangers and Olympiacos, meanwhile, are in play-off action on Thursday.