The four Bundesliga sides in the UEFA Cup will be traversing Europe for the rest of year. Their opponents range from familiar names in big leagues to obscure clubs on the fringes of Euro soccer-land.
https://p.dw.com/p/BoNy
Bayern are one of the favorites to win the UEFA CupImage: AP
Advertisement
Bayern Munich have every reason to be confident of progressing after the draw, which took place on Tuesday in Nyon, Switzerland.
In Group F, Munich will have to face Serbian champs Red Star Belgrade. But they'll hardly be quaking in their boots at the likes of Braga from Portugal, Aris Thessaloniki from Greece or Bolton Wanderers -- who are mired in the relegation zone in the English Premier League.
Leverkusen will like their odds of moving onImage: AP Bayer Leverkusen, on the other hand, were not as fortunate in Group E. They'll have potentially frosty encounters with Czech champs Sparta Prague and Russian number two Spartak Moscow. They also have to face Swiss champs FC Zürich and French side Toulouse.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Hamburg get Basle and Dinamo Zagreb, who are top of the heap in Switzerland and Croatia respectively. They also have dates with Stades Rennais from France and Norwegian side Brann Bergen.
Things haven't been going Nuremberg's way in the BundesligaImage: AP And in Group A, Nuremberg, off to a disappointing start in the Bundesliga, face a couple of teams who have also stumbled out of the blocks on the national level -- AZ Alkmaar, who are only 12th in the Dutch Eredivisie, and Everton, who've slipped to 10th in the Premiership.
Nuremberg also face Zenit St. Petersburg from Russia and Greek side Larissa.
The group-stage matches will be played on October 25, November 8, November 29, December 5-6, and December 19-20. Each team has two matches at home and two away.
