Giants gather for UEFA Europe League play-offs

Former European champions AFC Ajax, Aston Villa FC, SL Benfica, Steaua Bucureşti and FK Crvena Zvezda will be among 76 clubs hoping to reach the group stage of the Europa League as the play-off round gets under way tonight.

Group aim
A place in one of 12 groups of four clubs will be up for grabs in the inaugural edition of the competition following this evening's first leg matches and the return games on 20 August. The 38 winners of those ties will be joined by the ten losing sides from the UEFA Champions League playoff round. Ajax, under new coach Martin Jol, are at home to ŠK Slovan Bratislava, Villa travel to SK Rapid Wien and Benfica take on FC Vorskla Poltava at Lisbon's Estadio da Luz. Steaua, back in Europe after reaching the group stage of last season's UEFA Champions League, start in Bucharest against Irish hopefuls Saint Patrick's Athletic FC, while Crvena Zvezda are at SK Slavia Praha.

Familiar faces
The draw for the new competition includes some familiar faces from its predecessor, the UEFA Cup. Jol's former club Hamburg, who he steered to last season's UEFA Cup semi-finals, are in action this week at En Avant Guingamp, while both of May's finalists from Istanbul are also playing. Fresh from becoming the first Ukrainain winners of the UEFA Cup, FC Shakhtar Donetsk travel to Turkey to face Sivasspor, while losing finalists Werder Bremen are at home to FK Aktobe of Kazakhstan. FC Zenit St Petersburg, who won the UEFA Cup for Russia in convincing style in 2008, will be in Portugal at CD Nacional.

Early favourites
The likes of AS Roma, Valencia CF, PSV Eindhoven and Galatasaray SK are also among the other early favourites for the trophy, while Everton FC, S.S. Lazio and Villarreal FC will also be looking for a prolonged stay in a competition which draws to a close with the final in Hamburg on 12 May 2010.