Inter handed eastern European test

Aug 31, 2012 6:10:00 PM

The Serie A giants have been placed in Group H alongside Rubin Kazan, Partizan and Neftchi while holders Atletico Madrid will be sure they can seal their place in the later stages

Inter have been handed an all eastern European affair and should be confident of their chances of progression to the later stages of the Europa League after the draw was made on Friday.

The Italiians, after gaining a 2-2 draw against Romanian club Vaslui to seal their place in the tournament, will be paired alongside Russian's Rubin Kazan, Serbian side Partizan and Azerbaijan outfit Neftchi in Group H.

Elsewhere, European holders Atletico Madrid begin their defence of the title with a relatively straight forward group containing Hapoel Tel Aviv of Israel, Czech side Viktoria Plzen, and Portuguese side Academica.

But it would be naive to write off the Czech side's chances of progression having surprised many with their Champions League performances last season.

In Group A, Udinese's punishment for failing to qualify for the Champions League on penalties against Braga, is a tough group alongside Liverpool, big-spending Russians Anzhi, and Young Boys from Switzerland.

Udinese looked favourites to go through in their clash with Braga, but a Maicosuel failed panenka penalty gave the Portuguese outfit the impetus to seal a Champions League spot.

Liverpool avoided a late scare from Hearts to book their place in the group stages, while Anzhi hammered Alkmaar 5-0 away from home to ensure they would be playing European football this season.

Napoli and PSV were drawn together in Group F. Dick Advocaat's side qualified with an emphatic 14-0 aggregate demolition of Montenegro minnows Zeta. While Athletic Bilbao have to negotiate the test of Lyon in Group I, if they are to reach a second successive Europa League final.

Tottenham, Lazio and Panathinaikos clash in Group J and the Greeks have never met any of the sides they will face in the group.

The first round of group matches start on September 20, and the final will take place in the Amsterdam ArenA on June 13 next year.

GROUP A	GROUP B	GROUP C	GROUP D
Liverpool	Atletico Madrid	Marseille	Bordeaux
Udinese	Hapoel Tel Aviv	Fenerbahce	Club Brugge
Young Boys	Viktoria Plzen	Borussia Monchengladbach	Newcastle United
Anzhi Makhachkala	Academica	Limassol	Maritimo

GROUP E	GROUP F	GROUP G	GROUP H
Stuttgart	PSV	Sporting CP	Inter
Copenhagen	Napoli	Basel	Rubin Kazan
Steaua Bucharest	Dnipro	Genk	Partizan
Molde	AIK	Videoton	Neftchi

GROUP I	GROUP J	GROUP K	GROUP L
Lyon	Tottenham	Bayer Leverkusen	Twente
Athletic Bilbao	Panathinaikos	Metalist Kharkiv	Hannover
Sparta Prague	Lazio	Rosenborg	Levante
Ironi Kiryat Shmona	Maribor	Rapid Wien	Helsingborgs

Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200
Sign up to Paddy Power for £250 in free bets
Sign up today with Coral and get a £50 FREE bet - no strings attached!
Sign up today with BetVictor and get a £25 FREE BET!