September 1, 2010
UEFA Europa League – Very attractive matches spice up the group stage
Those teams unable to make it to the UEFA Champions League will look for they consolation in the Europa League, which begins with a very competitive group stage.
By Andrew Hill
The second most prestigious club competition in Europe already knows how its 48 contenders will be divided throughout the group stage that begins on September 16th. There are only 10 guests missing that will join the competition after the group stage knocks out half of its competitors. These guests will come out from the Champions League teams that don’t make it to the next stage. This will be the second year in which the competition is played under its new format and name. Previously it was know as the UEFA Cup, since its creation in 1971 until last year, when it merged with the UEFA Intertoto Cup.
The defending champions, Atletico de Madrid, will begin their attempt to revalidate the title in the Dublin Arena, where the final will be host on May 18th, 2011. If their expectations for this season where already high, after defeating Inter last week for the UEFA Super Cup final their aspirations have been set even higher, as all of them – management, players, and fans – are confident of their conditions. The first obstacles they will have to overcome in Group B are: Bayer Leverkusen, Rosenborg, and Aris Thessaloniki.
Group A has the three times winners Juventus, against the multi-millionaire Manchester City, a team that is trying to gain prominence not just in England, but in Europe as well. They shouldn’t find much resistance in Salzburg and Lech Poznan, the two teams that complete the group, but their fight for the first place will make things interesting.
Continuing with the draw, Group C will have Sporting from Portugal and Lille from France departing as favorites over Levski Sofia and Gent. Meanwhile Group D has Villarreal, Brugge, Dinamo Zagreb, and PAOK competing for one of the two tickets that will lead them to the next round.
When they proclaimed themselves as Dutch champions and halted PSV’s domain
In Group E we find AZ Alkmaar, a team that gave a grateful surprise in the Eredivisie two seasons ago, when they proclaimed themselves as Dutch champions and halted PSV’s domain. Their opponents are: Dynamo de Kiev, Borisov and Sheriff. The Russians will be represented by CSKA Moska and Zenit. CSKA will be in Group F along with Palermo, Sparta Praha, and Lausanne. And in Group G Zenit will compete against Anderlecht, AEK Athens, and Hajduk Split.
The confrontation between the Germans from Stuttgart and the Spaniards from Getafe will be the main dish in Group H, which will be completed with Odense and Young Boys. PSV, Sampdoria, Metalist Kharkiv, and Debreceni make up Group I, where the first two part as favorites. The next two groups, J and K, have very attractive matches ahead, as we will see Sevilla, Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, and Karpaty trying to avoid and early elimination from the competition in Group J. Liverpool, Steaua Bucharest, Napoli, and Utrecht will also have an interesting competition going on in Group K, for one ticket to the round of 32 phase.
Last but not least we have Group L, where Porto, Besiktas, CSKA Sofia, and Rapid Wien complete the competition.
About the Author
Andrew Hill has been a prominent writer on regular International Football games, sports news and the sportsbetting industry for many exceptional sports web sites. You may reprint this article in its full content, please note no modifications to it are accepted.