Return to One's Roots

Always in the shadow of the Champions League, Europe's second-rate competition deserves some attention. The Europa League Round of 32 draw provided some great match-ups and a return for some players to where it all began.

Liverpool was pitted against Champions League drop-outs Zenit St. Petersburg in what should be a difficult fixture for Brendan Rodgers inconsistent bunch. A trip to Russia in February is far from ideal, but one player in red will relish the journey, with Martin Skrtel receiving a homecoming of sorts, returning to the Petrovsky Stadium to face his former club.

The same can be said for Petr Cech, as Chelsea will meet Sparta Prague and travel to the Czech capital for the first leg. The Blues keeper spent only one successful season in Prague before moving on, though, it was an important step in his career and the place where it all began.

In what should be the best fixture of the round, Tottenham will host Lyon at White Hart Lane in the first leg, before a return to the Stade de Gerland for Hugo Lloris, barely six months after the keeper was sold by the French outfit to Spurs.

Newcastle by far received the easiest opponent out of the four English sides, drawn against Ukranian side Metalist Kharkiv, with St. James Park hosting the first leg. This could prove to be a tricky fixture for Alan Pardew, depending on what happens during the January transfer window and if the Magpies can find a way to end their run of poor form. But it could have been a lot worse.


Other notable fixtures to keep an eye on are....

Bayer Leverkusen   v   Benfica

Atletico Madrid   v   Rubin Kazan

Borussia Monchengladbach   v   Lazio


The remaining fixtures are....

BATE Borisov   v   Fenerbahce

Inter Milan   v   CFR Cluj

Levante   v   Olympiakos

Dynamo Kiev   v   Bordeaux

Stuttgart   v   Genk

Ajax   v   Steuea Bucuresti

FC Basel   v   Dnipro

Anji Makhachkala   v   Hannover

Napoli   v   Viktoria Plzen


Here's a look at the fixture list after the draw for the Round of 16....

Napoli/Viktoria Plzen   v   BATE Borisov/Fenerbahce

Dynamo Kiev/Bordeaux   v   Bayer Leverkusen/Benfica

Newcastle United/Metalist Kharkiv   v   Anzhi Makhachkala/Hannover

Borussia Monchengladbach/Lazio   v   Stuttgart/Genk

Inter Milan/CFR Cluj   v   Tottenham Hotspur/Lyon

Atletico Madrid/Rubin Kazan   v   Levante/Olympiakos

Zenit St Petersburg/Liverpool   v   FC Basel/Dnipro

Sparta Prague /Chelsea   v   Ajax Amsterdam/Steaua Bucuresti