Draw made for Europa League

Friday, 28 August 2009 14:15

Europa League holders Shakhtar Donetsk look a good bet to progress to the last 32 of this year's competition after being pitted against Club Brugge, Partizan Belgrade and Toulouse in the group phase.

The Ukrainian side, bankrolled by billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, won what was then the UEFA Cup last season by beating Werder Bremen in the final in Istanbul.

They had been hoping for a decent run in the Champions League but lost out to Timisoara over two legs in the third qualifying round.

Now they will aim to emulate the exploits of Sevilla in 2006 and 2007 by retaining the cup, and will be expected to win Group J where they face Club Brugge, who were third in the Belgian league last season, Serbian champions Partizan and Toulouse, who were fourth in Ligue 1 last year.

Villarreal, who have performed well in the Champions League in recent years, head a tough-looking Group G which also features Lazio, plus the champions of Austria (Red Bull Salzburg) and Bulgaria (Levski Sofia).

English FA Cup runners-up Everton will face Portuguese giants Benfica. The Lisbon club have a strong historical European pedigree having won the European Cup in 1961 and 1962 and reached the final of the UEFA Cup in 1983.

They are no longer top dogs in Portuguese football however and finished third last season behind Porto and city rivals Sporting - but should provide a tough test for David Moyes' men.

The Toffees, who beat Czech side Sigma Olomouc 5-1 to reach the group phase, will also face Greek side AEK Athens and BATE Borisov from Belarus in Group I.

Fulham face a trip to Italy to take on Roma and must also tackle Swiss side Basle and CSKA Sofia of Bulgaria in Group E.

The Cottagers overcame Russian side Amkar Perm to qualify for the group phase and now have a trip to the Stadio Olimpico to look forward to.

Celtic, who dropped out of the Champions League at the play-off stage after a 5-1 aggregate defeat to Arsenal, are up against Hamburg, Israeli side Hapoel Tel-Aviv and Rapid Vienna in Group C.

Hamburg finished fifth in the Bundesliga last season under former Tottenham boss Martin Jol, who has now returned to his homeland to coach Ajax. They are second after three games of the new season with two wins and a draw.

Rapid Vienna underlined their strength by beating Aston Villa on away goals in a play-off to reach the group phase.

Holland meets Belgium in Group A, with four-times European champions Ajax set to face 1982 UEFA Cup winners Anderlecht. Shakhtar's Champions League conquerors Timisoara of Romania and Dinamo Zagreb round out the group.

Valencia, winners of the competition in 2004, are the top seeds in Group B where they will also face Lille, Slavia Prague and Genoa.

Sporting Lisbon head up Group D where they are joined by Dutch side Heerenveen, Hertha Berlin and Latvians Ventspils.

There is a tasty clash in Group F where Greek side Panathinaikos are up against Galatasaray of Turkey. The teams are led by the former coaching double act at Barcelona, with Frank Rijkaard the boss at Galatasaray and fellow Dutchman Henk Ten Cate in charge of Panathinaikos.

Dinamo Bucharest and Sturm Graz of Austria are the other sides in the pool.

Steaua Bucharest, European champions in 1986, are in a group with Turkish giants Fenerbahce, FC Twente and Sheriff Tiraspol of Moldova.

PSV Eindhoven are the big names in Group K and the 1988 European champions will be up against FC Copenhagen, Sparta Prague and CFR Cluj of Romania.

Group L is headed by last year's runners-up Werder Bremen, with the Germans taking on Austria Vienna, Athletic Bilbao and Nacional of Portugal.

The first round of matches will be played on Thursday, 17 September, with the top two teams from each group progressing to the last 32, where they will be joined by the eight third-placed teams from the Champions League group phase.

The draw for the UEFA Europa League group stage is as follows:

Group A
Ajax
Anderlecht
Dinamo Zagreb
Politehnica Timisoara

Group B
Valencia
Lille
Slavia Prague
Genoa

Group C
Hamburg
Celtic
Hapoel Tel-Aviv
Rapid Vienna

Group D
Sporting
Heerenveen
Hertha Berlin
FK Ventspils

Group E
Roma
Basle
Fulham
CSKA Sofia

Group F
Panathinaikos
Galatasaray
Dinamo Bucuresti
SK Sturm Graz

Group G
Villarreal
Lazio
Levski Sofia
SV Red Bull Salzbug

Group H
Steaua Bucuresti
Fenerbahce
FC Twente
FC Sheriff

Group I
Benfica
Everton
AEK Athens
BATE

Group J
Shakhtar Donetsk
Club Brugge
Partizan Belgrade
Toulouse

Group K
PSV
FC Copenhagen
Sparta Prague
CFR Cluj-Napoca