Clubs mull over UEFA Cup first round draw
West Ham face a trip to Sicily with a two-legged tie against Palermo in the UEFA Cup first round.
The Hammers, who qualified for Europe by reaching the FA Cup final last season, will face the Serie A side on September 14 and 28.
Newcastle’s reward for beating Latvian side Ventspils in the second qualifying round is another trip to the Baltic region to take on Levadia Tallinn of Estonia.
No Estonian side had ever made it past the first qualifying round of any major European tournament before this season, but Levadia booked their trip to the first round proper by beating Dutch side FC Twente.
Rangers’ first European game under Paul Le Guen will be against Norwegian team Molde while Hearts’ consolation for missing out on the Champions League is a meeting with Czech side Sparta Prague.
Blackburn begin their European campaign against Salzburg, while Tottenham take on Slavia Prague.
Derry City, who knocked out Gretna in the second qualifying round, booked themselves a glamour tie against Paris St Germain.
Draw for first round of UEFA Cup:
Group 1
Chernomorets v Hapoel Tel Aviv
Braga v Chievo
Levadia Tallinn v Newcastle
Molde v Rangers
Standard Liege v Celta Vigo
Group 2
Maccabi Haifa v Litex Lovech
Derry City v Paris St Germain
Hertha Berlin v Odense
Legia Warsaw v Austria Vienna
Panathinaikos v Metalurh Zaporizhya
Group 3
Lokomotiv Moscow v Zulte Waregem
Sparta Prague v Hearts
Fenerbahce v Randers
Salzburg v Blackburn
Schalke v Nancy
Group 4
Ethnikos Achnas v Lens
Slovan Liberec v Red Star Belgrade
AZ Alkmaar v Kayserispor
Rubin Kazan v Parma
Brondby v Eintracht Frankfurt
Group 5
Atromitos v Sevilla
Besiktas v CSKA Sofia
Vitoria Setubal v Heerenveen
Marseille v Mlada Boleslav
Atvidabergs v Grasshoppers
Group 6
Rapid Bucharest v Nacional
Trabzonspor v Osasuna
Basle v Rabotnicki
West Ham United v Palermo
Feyenoord v Lokomotiv Sofia
Group 7
Ruzomberok v Club Brugge
Sion v Bayer Leverkusen
Partizan Belgrade v Groningen
Xanthi v Dinamo Bucharest
Slavia Prague v Tottenham
Group 8
IK Start v Ajax
Artmedia Bratislava v Espanyol
Wisla Krakow v Iraklis
Livorno v Pasching
Dinamo Zagreb v Auxerre
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