A look at who Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur will face. The draw for the Europa League group stage took place yesterday; and you can take a look at who the Premier League representatives will play here at SillySeason.
Liverpool have been drawn in to this group alongside Bordeaux, FC Sion and Rubin Kazan. Brendan Rodgers‘ Reds qualified directly for the group stages after finishing sixth in the previous Premier League campaign.
The team from Merseyside have won this competition three times (1972/73, 1975/76, 2000/01) when it was known as the UEFA Cup.
Bordeaux – After finishing sixth in Ligue 1, Willy Sagnol‘s side secured qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round where they faced AEK Larnaca of Cyprus.
They defeated AEK Larnaca 4-0 on aggregate after a two-legged tie to progress through to the Europe League play-off tie; their opponents were FC Kairat of Kazakhstan.
Bordeaux and Kairat drew 2-2 on aggregate after two legs, but the French side progressed via the away goals rule.
Their danger man is their centre forward and number nine Diego Rolan, the Uruguay international scored 16 goals in all competitions last season.
They have never won this competition, but they were runners-up in 1996 to Bayern Munich.
Sion – Despite finishing 7th in the Swiss Super League, Didier Tholot‘s men qualified directly for the Europa League group stages by winning the Swiss Cup.
A notable name in their squad is ex-Tottenham Hotspur and Wigan Athletic left-back Reto Ziegler.
FC Sion have never won the competition but have been involved in several qualifiers in previous years.
Rubin Kazan – Rubin Kazan gained qualification to the Europa League third qualifying round after finishing fifth in the Russian Premier League.
Kazan defeated Austrian side Sturm Graz 4-3 on aggregate in the third qualifying round to set up two meetings with Macedonian side FK Rabotnicki in the play-off round.
Rinat Bilyaletdinov‘s team won 2-1 on aggregate to progress through to the group stage.
It will be arguably the most difficult away trip for Liverpool, taking into consideration the long travelling distance.
One player to watch out for is ex-Everton winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov.
Rubin Kazan have never won the competition in their history.
Two times UEFA Cup winners Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the group stages after finishing fifth in the Premier League table. They have been drawn against R.S.C. Anderlecht, AS Monaco and FK Qarabag.
Anderlecht – Besnik Hasi‘s men qualified directly for the group stages of the Europa League by finishing third in the Belgian Pro League Championship play-off table.
One of their stand-out players is Belgian international central midfielder Steven Defour.
Anderlecht, who were in the Champions League last term, have won the UEFA Cup once back in 1983.
Monaco – Leonardo Jardim‘s team qualified for the group stages after finishing third in Ligue 1, but lost in the Champions League play-off round to La Liga side Valencia (4-3 on aggregate).
They have a star-studded squad with several quality players, including AC Milan loanee striker Stephen El Shaarawy and Portuguese international playmaker Joao Moutinho.
Monaco have never won the Europa League/UEFA Cup, despite being the 2004 Champions League runners-up.
Qarabag – Gurban Gurbanov‘s team qualified for the Champions League third qualifying round after winning the Azerbaijan Premier League.
However, they were knocked out when they lost 1-0 on aggregate to Celtic, meaning they qualified directly for the Europa League group stage.
Their stand-out player is Brazilian number nine Reynaldo for his impressive goalscoring record.
Just like Liverpool’s trip to Rubin Kazan, this could be Spurs‘ most difficult away game of the group due to the sheer mileage.
They have never won this competition.