Here are the draw groups, the draw takes place in a couple of hours. Interesting to see England have two unseeded teams. Only the teams that are in the same group can play each other (seeded vs. unseeded, of course) Group 1: Seeded Unseeded Newcastle United FC (ENG) R. Standard de Liège (BEL) Rangers FC (SCO) SC Braga (POR) RC Celta de Vigo (ESP) Molde FK (NOR) Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC (ISR) FC Chornomorets Odesa (UKR) AC Chievo Verona (ITA) FC Levadia Tallinn (EST) Group 2: Seeded Unseeded Panathinaikos FC (GRE) Maccabi Haifa FC (ISR) Hertha BSC Berlin (GER) Legia Warszawa (POL) Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA) FC Metalurg Zaporizhzhya (UKR) FK Austria Wien (AUT) Odense BK (DEN) PFC Litex Lovech (BUL) Derry City FC (IRL) Group 3: Seeded Unseeded FC Schalke 04 (GER) Heart of Midlothian FC (SCO) AC Sparta Praha (CZE) AS Nancy-Lorraine (FRA) FC Lokomotiv Moskva (RUS) SV Sulte Waregem (BEL) Fenerbahçe SK (TUR) FC Salzburg (AUT) Blackburn Rovers FC (ENG) Randers FC (DEN) Group 4: Seeded Unseeded Parma FC (ITA) FK Crvena Zvezda (SCG) AZ Alkmaar (NED) Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) RC Lens (FRA) FC Rubin Kazan (RUS) FC Slovan Liberec (CZE) Kayserispor (TUR) Brøndby IF (DEN) Ethnikos Achnas FC (CYP) Group 5: Seeded Unseeded Sevilla FC (ENG) PFC CSKA Sofia (BUL) Olympique de Marseille (FRA) Vitória FC (POR) Besiktas JK (TUR) Atromitos FC (GRE) SC Heerenveen (NED) FK Mladá Boleslav (CZE) Grasshopper-Club (SUI) Åtvidabergs FF (SWE) Group 6: Seeded Unseeded Feyenoord (NED) West Ham United FC (ENG) FC Basel 1893 (SUI) CD Nacional (POR) US Città di Palermo (ITA) Trabzonspor (TUR) AFC Rapid Bucuresti (ROU) PFC Lokomotiv Sofia (BUL) CA Osasuna (ESP) FK Rabotnicki (MKD) Group 7: Seeded Unseeded Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER) Tottenham Hotspur FC (ENG) Club Brugge KV (BEL) FC Groningen (NED) SK Slavia Praha (CZE) Skoda Xanthi FC (GRE) FK Partizan (SCG) FC Sion (SUI) FC Dinamo 1948 Bucuresti (ROU) MFK Ružomberok (SVK) Group 8: Seeded Unseeded AFC Ajax (NED) NK Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) AJ Auxerre (FRA) FC Artmedia (SVK) RCD Espanyol (ESP) Iraklis FC (GRE) Wisla Kraków (POL) IK Start (NOR) AS Livorno Calcio (ITA) FCS Pasching (AUT)
Odesa – Hapoel Tel Aviv Braga – Chievo Verona Levadia Tallin – Newcastle Molde – Rangers Standard – Celta Maccabi Haifa – Litex Derry City – PSG Hertha – Odense Legia Varšava – Austria Vienna Panathinaikos – Metalurg Lokomotiva Moskva – Waregem Sparta Prag - Hearts Fenerbahçe - Randers Salzburg – Blackburn Schalke - Nancy Achna – Lens Slovan Liberec – Crvena zvezda AZ - Kayserispor Rubin Kazan – Parma Brondby – Eintracht Atromitos – Sevilla Beşiktaş – CSKA Sofia Vittoria – Heerenveen Olympique Marseille – Mlada Boleslav Atvidaberg – Grasshoppers Rapid Bukurest – Nacional Trabzonspor – Ossasuna Basel – Rabotnički West Ham – Palermo Feyenoord - Lokomotiva Sofia Ružomberok – Club Brugge Sion – Bayer Leverkusen Partizan – Groningen Xanthi – Dinamo Bukurest Slavia Prag - Tottenham Start – Ajax Artmedia – Espanyol Wisla Krakow – Iraklis Livorno – Pasching Dinamo Zagreb - Auxerre A couple of interesting clashes, like West Ham - Palermo and Celta - Standard. First matches are played on 14 September, the return legs a fortnight later.
Stupid system for drawing if you ask me. What's wrong with sticking 40 seeded teams in a hat, and drwing them off against 40 unseeded teams? Can see West Ham and spurs going out here. Very tough draws for them, while Newcastle get a plum draw despite how shit they are. When will UEFA ever manage to organise a decent competition?
They do it this way to prevent teams from the same country drawing each other (which is not allowed). But I agree that they could also do that in a different way: Just make 2 pots of 40 teams and when it happens that 2 teams from the same country draw each other, just move the team that is drawn 2nd to the next match (or previous if the last match gives problems).
West Ham and Spurs were unseeded so getting a strong opponent should not be a surprise. Both of them got teams that were in the bottom half of the seeded teams. If the draw was as you proposed there is a greater likelihood that they would have had to face an even stronger team. Newcastle (as poor as they are) on the other hand, was a seeded team (#2, actually #1, but behind Sevilla as the title holder). They did get very lucky in drawing the weakest team. But in order to do that they had to get lucky twice, once to be drawn into the same group as Tallinn and a second time in avoiding Standard & Braga (40%) both are in the top 10 unseeded teams and in a 40 by 40 format Newcastle would have had only an 8/38 (~21%) of facing a top 10 unseeded team (they can't play an English team). Overall the system is reasonable, some teams got worse draw and some got a better one, but this is the nature of a draw. A 40 by 40 draw would, in all likelihood, have produced just as many tough matches.