Gift Orban’s Gent will begin their quest for UEFA Europa Conference League glory after being paired with Maccabi Tel Aviv, Zorya Luhansk and Breidablik in Group B following Friday’s draw ceremony in Monaco.
The Buffalos reached the quarter-finals of last season’s competition, losing to eventual champions West Ham United. Orban was the star of the team, netting five goals after arriving from Stabaek in January. His most notable moment was in the round of 16 where he scored a hat-trick in a 4-1 win over Istanbul Basaksehir and was the fastest hat-trick in the history of UEFA competitions.
Premier League side Aston Villa will be one of the favourites to win the competition with manager Unai Emery having led Sevilla to three Europa League titles. The Villians are in Group E with AZ Alkmaar, Legia Warsaw and Zrinjski Mostar.
Group A contains Lille, Slovan Bratislava, Olimpija Ljubljana and KI Klaksvik while Group C contains Dynamo Zagreb, Viktoria Plzen, FC Astana and FC Ballkani.
In Group D are Club Brugge, Bodoe/Glimt, Besiktas and FC Lugano, in Group F are Ferencvaros, last season’s runners-up Fiorentina, Genk and Cukaricki.
Group G comprises Eintracht Frankfurt, POAK FC, HJK Helsinki and Aberdeen while Group H is made of Turkish giants Fenerbahce, Ludogorets, Spartak Trnava and FC Nordsjaelland.
The 2023/24 group stage is complete ✅#UECLdraw pic.twitter.com/szTXn8mxQ7
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) September 1, 2023
The Europa Conference League group stage commences on September 21.
