Tough groups for former champions

AC Milan will continue their bid for a first UEFA Cup triumph against SC Heerenveen, SC Braga, debutants Portsmouth FC and VfL Wolfsburg after the group stage draw was made in Nyon on Tuesday.

Former champions
Milan have been placed in Group E, among eight pools that will all send three teams to the Round of 32 in February along with the sides finishing third in their UEFA Champions League sections. Of Milan's fellow former European champions, AFC Ajax, Hamburger SV and Aston Villa take on Group F rivals SK Slavia Praha and MŠK Žilina while SL Benfica meet Olympiacos CFP, 2000 UEFA Cup winners Galatasaray AŞ, Hertha BSC Berlin and FC Metalist Kharkiv in Group B.

Sevilla bid
Sevilla FC, bidding to win the UEFA Cup for the third time in four years, are in Group C against Stuttgart, UC Sampdoria, FK Partizan and R. Standard de Liège. Of the other former UEFA Cup winners both PFC CSKA Moskva and Feyenoord are in Group H against AS Nancy-Lorraine, KKS Lech Poznań and RC Deportivo La Coruña.

Schalke task
FC Schalke 04 have a tough Group A task meeting Paris Saint-Germain FC, Manchester City FC, Real Racing Club and FC Twente. Two-time winners Tottenham Hotspur FC are up against Group D rivals FC Spartak Moskva, Udinese Calcio, NK Dinamo Zagreb and NEC Nijmegen. Valencia CF, victors in 2004, play Group G opponents Club Brugge KV, FC København, AS Saint-Etienne and Rosenborg BK, one of five UEFA Intertoto Cup winners still in the UEFA Cup along with Braga, Villa, Deportivo and Stuttgart.

Fixtures
Matches begin on 23 October and continue on 6 and 27 November, then 3/4 and 17/18 December with each club in action on four of those matchdays and fixtures to be confirmed shortly. In the Round of 32 draw on 19 December, the teams finish first and third will be paired, with the runners-up meeting the sides currently competing in the UEFA Champions League. This is the last year that the tournament will be in its current format before being relaunched as the UEFA Europa League.