Competitive. Tough. Daunting. There are plenty of ways to describe OGC Nice’s likely group in the Europa League when you look at the clubs in Friday’s draw (from 13:00). Le Gym’s UEFA coefficient means the club will almost certainly find themselves up against two, or even three European powerhouses. While the Pots won’t be finalised until after Thursday’s play-off matches, Les Rouge et Noir are one of the outsiders. Here’s why:

48 CLUBS, 4 POTS

Before the draw, the 48 qualified clubs will be divided into four pots of 12. Each group draw will include one club from each of the four Pots. The four Pots are decided by the club UEFA coefficient.

WHAT IS LE GYM’S COEFFICIENT?

A club’s coefficient is decided ‘either by their total number of points earned in each of the last five season, or by the national association’s coefficient over the same period, depending on which is better.’ Given that France’s coefficient is higher, Les Aiglons (10.00) will receive the average points score of French club’s over the last five years (11.849), positioning it as the 120th club in Europe.

The same rule applies to France’s other participant, Lille, who see their coefficient almost double (from 6.00 to 11.849). Les Dogues (117th) even leapfrog Nice because, when club are tied, the club with the better most recent season is advantaged (Lille obtained 5 points in 2019-20, compared to 0 for Le Gym, who did not play in Europe last year).

LE GYM WILL NOT BE DRAWN IN POT 1 OR 2

Le Gym cannot feature in Pot 1. Dante and Co also cannot feature in Pot 2, either, as they did in their last continental participation in the 2017-18 season.

In the same group as Lazio, Le Gym finished second in the section in the 2017-18 season. Les Aiglons finished above Zulte Waregem and Vitesse Arnhem.

POT 3: IT WILL DEPEND ON THE PLAY-OFFS

There’s plenty of competition for a place in pot 3. It would take a huge number of upsets amongst the best-ranked favourites who play the play-offs on Thursday night. Depending on the results of the night of the play-offs, Les Aiglons would be positioned in pot 3 or pot 4, as in the 2016-17 season.

In 2016-17, OGC Nice took on Schalke 04, FK Krasnodar and Red Bull Salzburg. Les Aiglons finished bottom of the section.

---