For their first appearance in the Europa League, Maribor was drawn into Group H together with 2010–11 runners up Braga, 1975–76 runners up Club Brugge and English Championship side Birmingham City, which qualified to the competition as the winners of the 2011 Football League Cup. The club won one point in six matches, eventually finishing at the bottom of the table. Their campaign started in Bruges against Club Brugge. The home side showed their quality in the opening minutes and quickly took a two-goal lead, which was enough for their 2–0 victory. Maribor then played their first home match against Birmingham City and fared well during the first hour when they were leading 1–0 from a first half goal by Dalibor Volaš. The English side, however, bounced back with two goals in the final 30 minutes and won the match 2–1. Almost a month later Maribor played their second consecutive home match, this time against Braga. Agim Ibraimi's strike in the 14th minute gave the home side a lead until Elderson equalised in the final seconds of the first half. The goal was controversial as it was scored from an offside position. Both teams failed to score a decisive goal in the second half and the match finished as a draw, giving Maribor their first point.