Eighty teams enter this afternoon's UEFA Cup first round draw from 13.00CET in Monaco knowing they are just one tie from the competition's group stage.
Different routes
All 32 winners from the second qualifying round go into the pots along with the sides who received a bye to the first round and the 16 teams defeated the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. For the draw, the clubs have been split into eight groups of ten, with five seeds in each pool to be drawn against any of the five unseeded sides. The teams that emerge victorious from the two-legged ties, scheduled for 18 September and 2 October, will be divided into eight sections of five, with the first of five group-stage Matchdays on 23 October.
Sevilla defence
Among those involved int he draw former European champions AC Milan, AFC Ajax and SL Benfica plus past UEFA Cup winners Tottenham Hotspur FC, Feyenoord, SSC Napoli, FC Schalke 04, Galatasaray AŞ, Valencia CF, PFC CSKA Moskva and the victors in 2006 and 2007, Sevilla FC. Eight future contenders will not yet take part – that octet join the fray in the last 32 after finishing third in their respective UEFA Champions League groups. The final will be at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in Istanbul on 20 May 2009.
| Group 1: Seeded | Unseeded | | AC Milan (ITA) | FC Zürich (SUI) | | Beşiktaş JK (TUR) | FC Timişoara (ROU) | | FC Spartak Moskva (RUS) | FC Baník Ostrava (CZE) | | Hertha BSC Berlin (GER) | FC Metalist Kharkiv (UKR) | | FK Partizan (SRB) | Saint Patrick's Athletic FC (IRL) |
|
| Group 2: Seeded | Unseeded | | Sevilla FC (ESP) | Vitória SC (POR) | | FC Rapid Bucureşti (ROU) | VfL Wolfsburg (GER) | | Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA) | Kayserispor (TUR) | | UC Sampdoria (ITA) | FC Salzburg (AUT) | | Portsmouth FC (ENG) | FBK Kaunas (LTU) |
|
| Group 3: Seeded | Unseeded | | Valencia CF (ESP) | NK Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) | | Club Brugge KV (BEL) | CS Marítimo (POR) | | AC Sparta Praha (CZE) | Motherwell FC (SCO) | | Manchester City FC (ENG) | BSC Young Boys (SUI) | | AS Nancy-Lorraine (FRA) | AC Omonia (CYP) |
|
| Group 4: Seeded | Unseeded | | SL Benfica (POR) | SSC Napoli (ITA) | | Everton FC (ENG) | R. Standard de Liège (BEL) | | FC Dinamo 1948 Bucureşti (ROU) | NEC Nijmegen (NED) | | Galatasaray AŞ (TUR) | AC Bellinzona (SUI) | | Real Racing Club Santander (ESP) | FC Honka Espoo (FIN) |
|
| Group 5: Seeded | Unseeded | | FC Schalke 04 (GER) | PFC Litex Lovech (BUL) | | RC Deportivo La Coruña (ESP) | Vitória FC (POR) | | SC Heerenveen (NED) | SK Brann (NOR) | | FK Austria Wien (AUT) | KKS Lech Poznań (POL) | | Aston Villa FC (ENG) | APOEL FC (CYP) |
|
| Group 6: Seeded | Unseeded | | PFC CSKA Moskva (RUS) | Brøndby IF (DEN) | | VfB Stuttgart (GER) | FC Twente (NED) | | Rosenborg BK (NOR) | SC Vaslui (ROU) | | SK Slavia Praha (CZE) | PFC Cherno More Varna (BUL) | | Stade Rennais FC (FRA) | NK Slaven Koprivnica (CRO) |
|
| Group 7: Seeded | Unseeded | | Tottenham Hotspur FC (ENG) | BV Borussia Dortmund (GER) | | AFC Ajax (NED) | Wisla Kraków (POL) | | Udinese Calcio (ITA) | FC Moskva (RUS) | | PFC Levski Sofia (BUL) | FK Borac (SRB) | | FC København (DEN) | MŠK Žilina (SVK) |
|
| Group 8: Seeded | Unseeded | | Hamburger SV (GER) | AS Saint-Etienne (FRA) | | Olympiacos CFP (GRE) | FC Artmedia Petržalka (SVK) | | Feyenoord (NED) | AFC Unirea Urziceni (ROU) | | SC Braga (POR) | FC Nordsjælland (DEN) | | Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC (ISR) | Kalmar FF (SWE) |
|
