“There are 48 clubs in the Group Stage of this the inaugural Europa League competition. The biggest difference between the Europa League and the competition it replaced, the UEFA Cup, is that the group stage now consists of 12 4-team groups playing home-and-away matches against the other 3 teams in the group. The UEFA Cup had 8 5-team groups playing single matches against the other 4 teams in the group.” (billsportsmaps)