Shamrock Rovers in Pot 3 for Europa Conference League draw

The draw for Europa Conference League group stage will see Shamrock Rovers placed in Pot 3, the highest ever seeding for a League of Ireland club in European competition.

The Hoops' 4-1 aggregate loss to Ferencváros in the Europa League play-off round saw the Premier Division champions drop into the third-tier tournament, with manager Stephen Bradley insisting that his side will be targeting progression from their group. The financial rewards on offer include €500,000 for a win and €166,000 for a draw.

This afternoon's draw in Istanbul, which begins at 1.30pm Irish time, will see the 32 teams placed into eight groups of four. Shamrock Rovers will face opposition from pots 1, 2 and 4.

Last season's Champions League semi-finalists Villarreal are the top-ranked side, with West Ham United also one of the eight top seeds.

The winner of each group will advance to the round of 16, with the group runner-up facing one of the third-placed teams in the Europa League at the last-32 stage.

Earlier this week, Tallaght Stadium was confirmed as the venue for Rovers' home games in the competition.

Because of the winter World Cup in Qatar, the Thursday group games will be played over a shorter period, with the opening ties scheduled for 8 September.

The subsequent matchdays are 15 September, 6 October, 13 October, 27 October & 3 November.

Pot 1: Villarreal (Spain), FC Basel (Switzerland), Slavia Prague (Czech Republic), AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands), Gent (Belgium), Istanbul Basaksehir (Turkey), Partizan Belgrade (Serbia), West Ham United (England)

Pot 2: CFR Cluj (Romania), Molde (Norway), FCSB (Romania), Fiorentina (Italy), FC Koln (Germany), Hapoel Beer-Sheva (Israel), Apollon Limassol (Cyprus), Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia),

Pot 3: Nice (France),