Europa Cup Draw(s)

[Arksided]

Round of 32 draw
FC Porto (POR, holders) v MANCHESTER CITY FC (ENG)
AFC Ajax (NED) v MANCHESTER UNITED FC (ENG)
FC Lokomotiv Moskva (RUS) v Athletic Club (ESP)
FC Salzburg (AUT) v FC Metalist Kharkiv (UKR)
STOKE CITY FC (ENG) v Valencia CF (ESP)
FC Rubin Kazan (RUS) v Olympiacos FC (GRE)
AZ Alkmaar (NED) v RSC Anderlecht (BEL)
S.S. Lazio (ITA) v Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP)
FC Steaua Bucureşti (ROU) v FC Twente (NED)
FC Viktoria Plzeň (CZE) v FC Schalke 04 (GER)
Wisła Kraków (POL) v R. Standard de Liège (BEL)
SC Braga (POR) v Beşiktaş JK (TUR)
Udinese Calcio (ITA) v PAOK FC (GRE)
Trabzonspor AŞ (TUR) v PSV Eindhoven (NED)
Hannover 96 (GER) v Club Brugge KV (BEL)
Legia Warszawa (POR) v Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)

Round of 16 draw
Salzburg/Metalist v Rubin/Olympiacos
Legia/Sporting v Porto/Manchester City
Steaua/Twente v Plzeň/Schalke
Wisła/Standard v Hannover/Brugge
Stoke/Valencia v Trabzonspor/PSV
Alkmaar/Anderlecht v Udinese/PAOK
Lazio/Atlético v Braga/Beşiktaş
Porto/Manchester United v Lokomotiv/Athletic

[bibblebub]

not an easy draw for any of the 3 English teams

[chelle7272]

Indeed. Tough one for Stoke.

[Arksided]

agreed, that's what I thought... makes it more interesting than simply playing the part timers (no disrespect intended)

[redman41]

None of the English Clubs competing this Year have never Won this Competition

[bibblebub]

Are the CL dropouts automatically given the advantage of playing the 2nd leg at home in the round of 32?

[Arksided]

Yes seems they are:

'The UEFA Europa League group winners are all seeded, along with the four UEFA Champions League qualifiers with the best record in their section. The other four sides transferring from the elite competition and the UEFA Europa League group runners-up are in the unseeded pot and are drawn first, meaning they are drawn to play the first-leg matches at home. They cannot be paired with either the winners from their section or clubs from the same association.'

[bibblebub]

thanks for that info

[mightyWBA]

Be interesting to see if they take it seriously..Porto are the holders and Ajax are Ajax..Stoke will "Stoke" the hell out of Valencia no doubt!
What gets me about this competition is you could have a club reach the Final having played 20 matches and another only 8.
It started on June the 30th and the Final is on May the 9th..
Nearly a year later!

Talk about a long and winding road :-)