Holders get favourable draw
Shakhtar Donetsk, the last winners of the UEFA Cup, received a good draw when they were grouped with Club Bruges, Partizan Belgrade and Toulouse in the re-branded Europa League yesterday. Forty-eight teams were placed in 12 groups of four teams when...
Shakhtar Donetsk, the last winners of the UEFA Cup, received a good draw when they were grouped with Club Bruges, Partizan Belgrade and Toulouse in the re-branded Europa League yesterday.
Forty-eight teams were placed in 12 groups of four teams when the draw for the new competition was made yesterday.
They will play each other home and away as Europe's second tier competition now reflects more closely that of the Champions League.
Hamburg, who will host the final next May, were drawn to play Celtic, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Rapid Vienna, who qualified for the group stages by knocking out Aston Villa on away goals in their qualifying play-off on Thursday.
Group A: Ajax, Anderlecht, Dinamo Zagreb, FC Timisoara.
Group B: Valencia, Lille, S. Prague, Genoa.
Group C: Hamburg, Celtic, Hapoel Tel Aviv, R. Vienna.
Group D: Sporting, Heerenveen, H. Berlin, FK Ventspils.
Group E: Roma, Basel, Fulham, CSKA Sofia.
Group F: Panathinaikos, Galatasaray, D. Bucharest, S. Graz.
Group G: Villarreal, Lazio, L. Sofia, Salzburg.
Group H: S. Bucharest, Fenerbahce, Twente, Sheriff.
Group I: Benfica, Everton, AEK Athens, BATE Borisov.
Group J: S. Donetsk, C. Bruges, P. Belgrade, Toulouse.
Group K: PSV, FC Copenhagen, S. Prague, CFR Cluj.
Group L: W. Bremen, A. Vienna, A. Bilbao, N. Madeira.