The draw for the Europa League 2011-12 group stage was made in Monaco. The 48 teams which qualified for the group stages were drawn into 12 groups on the basis of their seeds. The group stages will start from 15th September and it will end in 15th December.
Europa League 2011-2012 Group Stage Draw
In Group A English representatives Tottenham will have to face Russian powerhouse Rubin. Otherwise Group A looks a pretty straightforward group. Last year’s finalist Braga are in an easy group which consists of Belgian club Brugge, English club Birmingham City and Slovenian champions Maribor. 2010 champions Athletico Madrid will face Italian side Udinese in their group. That will be a mouthwatering encounter. Copenhagen or Standard Liege are favorites to progress from Group B. Whereas PSV are the most likeliest in Group C. Sporting Lisbon are favorites to progress from Group D along with Lazio. Stoke will have a tough time as they are pitted against Ukraine’s Dynamo Kyiv, Israel’s Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Turkish side Besiktas. This group is being pitted as the group of death. Paris St Germain and Athletic Bilbao will contest for the top spot in Group F. German qualifiers Schalke who reached the semi finals of Champions League last year avoided a tough group and will expect qualification from Group J. Twente and Fulham are most likely to go through to the next phase from Group K.
The Group tally is:
Group A: Tottenham, Rubin Kazan, PAOK and Shamrock Rovers.
Group B: Copenhagen, Standard Liege, Hannover 96 and Vorskla Poltava.
Group C: PSV Eindhoven, Hapoel Tel-Aviv, Rapid Bucharest and Legia Warsaw.
Group D: Sporting Club Portugal, Lazio, Zurich and Vaslui.
Group E: Dynamo Kyiv, Besiktas, Stoke City and Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
Group F: Paris St Germain, Athletic Club Bilbao, Salzburg and Slovan Bratislava.
Group G: Alkmaar, Metalist Kharkiv, Austria Wien and Malmo.
Group H: Braga, Brugge, Birmingham City and NK Maribor.
Group I: Atletico Madrid, Udinese Calcio, Stade Rennais and Sion.
Group J: Schalke, Steaua Bucharest, Maccabi Haifa and AEK Larnaca.
Group K: Twente, Fulham, Odense and Wisla Krakow.
Group L: Anderlecht, AEK Athens, Locomotiv Moscow and Sturm Graz
Tags: Europa League, Europa League 2011-12, Football, Monaco, Sports
