The 2012–13 UEFA Europa League play-off round was the last of four rounds of matches prior to the tournament's group stage, and decided 31 of the 48 teams that would participate in the group stage.
[1] Matches could also be played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead of the regular Thursdays due to scheduling conflicts.
The team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs advanced to the next round.
If away goals were also equal, then thirty minutes of extra time would be played, divided into two fifteen-minutes halves.
If no goals were scored during extra time, the tie would be decided by penalty shootout.
The seeding in these draws (or in any cases where the results of a tie in the previous round were not known at the time of draw) was carried out under the assumption that the higher-ranked teams of the previous round would advance to this round, which means if a lower-ranked team were to advance, it would simply take the seeding of its defeated opponent.
Prior to the draws, UEFA may form "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee, but they were purely for convenience of the draw and for ensuring that teams from the same association were not drawn against each other, and did not resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition.
Newcastle United Partizan Vaslui Anzhi Makhachkala Atromitos Tromsø Neftçi Liverpool Athletic Bilbao Club Brugge Heerenveen Dila Gori[†] Marítimo Debrecen Heart of Midlothian
Molde Marseille Metalist Kharkiv Hannover 96 Trabzonspor Young Boys Dinamo București Sheriff Tiraspol Midtjylland Śląsk Wrocław Videoton Sporting CP Bordeaux Hapoel Tel Aviv Sparta Prague Levante Feyenoord Red Star Belgrade Motherwell Horsens F91 Dudelange CSKA Moscow Twente Lazio Rosenborg Viktoria Plzeň Bursaspor Legia Warsaw Lokeren
Steaua București Genk Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Rapid Wien Dynamo Moscow Luzern Slovan Liberec Ekranas Zeta Notes The draw for the play-off round was held on 10 August 2012.