The group stage of the elite competition will start on 12 September and end on 6 December.

Maribor have qualified for the Champions League for the third time in their history, having also managed the feat in the 1999/2000 and 2014/2015 seasons. The club never made it to the play-off stage.

Spartak are the reigning Russian champions, which played in the Champions League five times so far, last in 2000/01. It managed to get to the semi-final in 1990/91.

Liverpool are one of the most successful teams in European competitions, having won the Champions League five times, and the Europe League and the UEFA Super Cup three times each.

Sevilla hold a record five European League champion titles. Maribor were defeated by Sevilla in February 2014 in the first round of the European League.

"The wish for today's draw was ... to get a group that will allow us to compete. This would have been much harder had we gotten a different group. The group nonetheless has very demanding, attractive opponents, just look at Sevilla and Liverpool. It is the right group. We are looking forward to each match individually," Maribor's coach Darko Milanič commented on the draw.

Defender Marko Šuler was more direct, saying he was "surprised". "Maybe this groups is not among the most attractive ones, but it allows hope. Many things are possible," he added.