After yesterday's pomp and pageantry surrounding the Champions League draw, the other major European club tournament, the Europa League, sorted itself out today. All three clubs from England have potentially challenging draws, but Liverpool fared the worst, finding themselves in the tournament's "Group of Death"
UEFA Europa League Draw: Liverpool and Spurs Face Tough Groups
The 48 teams that qualified for the Europa League group stages learned their fate today.
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GROUP A: Liverpool, Udinese, Young Boys, Anzhi
Liverpool have a tough road ahead if they want to advance out of this group. Udinese will have to bounce back from their dissapointing loss in the UCL playoff round, but will still be a side to be reckoned with. Anzhi is a quiet, but potential favorite in this group with Guus Hiddink in charge and Samuel Eto'o as captain. This is your "Group of Death".
GROUP B: Atletico Madrid, Hapoel Tel-Aviv, Viktoria Plezn, Academica
The defending champions Atletico Madrid have a manageable group and seem like favorites to top their group and move on.
GROUP C: Marseille, Fenerbahce, Borussia Monchengladbach, AEL
Marseillie and Monchengladbach are the likely favorites from this group, but Fenerbahce and AEL should provide a stout challenge. This could be a fairly unpredictable and entertaining group.
GROUP D: Bordeaux, Club Brugge, Newcastle, Maritimo
If Newcastle want to extend their European adventure, they'll have to get past the French side Bordeaux and the Belgian side Brugge. Should be a good test for Alan Pardew's side.
GROUP E: Stuttgart, FC Copenhagen, Steaua Bucharest, Molde
German side Stuttgart are the favorites here, but Copenhage and Bucharast could challenge.
GROUP F: PSV Eindhoven, Napoli, Dnipro, AIK
After coming close to knocking Chelsea out of the Champions League last season, Napoli will try their luck in the Europa League. Despite losing several players during the summer, they're still a formidable side, led by Edinson Cavani. Eindhoven will be their main challenger in the group.
GROUP G: Sporting Lisbon, Basle, Genk, Videoton
This is a fairly wide open group, with Sporting Lisbon the clear favorite. Don’t
GROUP H: Inter Milan, Rubin Kazan, Partizan Belgrade, Neftci
Inter Milan should advance from this group but don’t underestimate Rubin Kazan, they could easily take the top spot if the Milan side isn’t giving this tournament their full attention. For a club that’s used to being in the Champions League, it’s hard to predict how Inter will react to being in the Europa League.
GROUP I: Lyon, Athletic Bilbao, Sparta Prague, Hapoel Kiryat Shmona
Last year’s semifinalist Athletic Bilbao have gotten off to a rough start this season, but nothing can lift the spirits like kicking off a cup run. French side Lyon are the co-favorites with Bilbao.
GROUP J: Tottenham, Panathinaikos, Lazio, Maribor
If Group A is the “Group of Death”, Group J might be the “Group of Chronic Illness”...sorry, that was bad. Spurs are the favorites to win the group, but Panathinaikos and Lazio will not make things easy. Should be an entertaining group and worth keeping an eye on.
GROUP K: Bayer Leverkusen, Metalist, Rosenborg, Rapid Vienna
A fairly wide open group, Leverkusen and Metalist are the likely favorites but you can make a case for Rosenborg or Rapid Vienna putting up a good fight.
GROUP L: Twente, Hannover, Levante, Helsingborg
Twente needed a massive comeback in the playoff round to get in to the group stages and their reward is a tough group that will see them challenged by Hannover and Levante for knockout round places.
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