Europa League draw: Tough test for Liverpool and Spurs

THE ENGLISH sides in this season’s draw for the Europa League group stages may have avoided the likes of Inter Milan and PSV Eindhoven, but the three clubs - Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United - face a stern test to advance from their respective groups.

Liverpool, who narrowly have been drawn in the same group as Udinese, Young Boys Berne and Azerbaijani cracks Anzhi Makhachkala, who can boast Samuel Eto’o and Yuri Zhirkov amongst their personnel. Newcastle face an easier task, having been drawn to play Bordeaux, Belgian side Club Brugge and Maritimo of Portugal. Tottenham will have to hold off the challenge of Slovenian side NK Maribor, Panathinaikos and Serie A outfit Lazio.

Levante, who knocked out Motherwell, have been drawn to play Helsingborg, who Celtic defeated to make the Champions League, Hannover of Germany and Twente Enschede. Last season’s winners Atlético Madrid have been drawn against Hapoel Tel-Aviv, Viktoria Plzen and Portuguese side Academica.

Draw in full:

Group A

Liverpool (ENG)

Udinese (ITA)

Young Boys Berne (SUI)

Anzhi Makhachkala (RUS)

Group B

Atlético Madrid (ESP)

Hapoel Tel-Aviv (ISR)

Viktoria Plzen (CZE)

Académica (POR)

Group C

Marseille (FRA)

Fenerbahçe (TUR)

Borussia Mönchengladbach (GER)

AEL Nicosia (CYP)

Group D

Girondins de Bordeaux (FRA)

Club Brugge (BEL)

Newcastle United (ENG)

Marítimo (POR)

Group E

Stuttgart (GER)

København (DEN)

Steaua Bucharest (ROU)

Molde (NOR)

Group F

PSV Eindhoven (NED)

Napoli (ITA)

Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (UKR)

AIK (SWE)

Group G

Sporting Lisbon (POR)

Basel (SUI)

Genk (BEL)

Videoton (HUN)

Group H

Inter Milan (ITA)

Rubin Kazan (RUS)

Partizan Belgrade (SRB)

Neftçi (AZE)

Group I

Lyon (FRA)

Athletic Bilbao (ESP)

Sparta Prague (CZE)

H. Kiryat Shmona (ISR)

Group J

Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)

Panathinaikos (GRE)

Lazio (ITA)

NK Maribor (SVN)

Group K

Bayer Leverkusen (GER)

Metalist Kharkiv(UKR)

Rosenborg BK (NOR)

Rapid Vienna (AUT)

Group L

Twente Enschede (NED)

Hannover (GER)

Levante (ESP)

Helsingborg (SWE)