The draw for the group stages of the UEFA Cup has been made. Each group consists of five teams who will play each other once, two home games and two away. Three teams from each group will then progress to the knock-out stages of the competition, the final of which is on May 20^th in Istanbul. This years draw has thrown up some fascinating ties and you can watch the UEFA Cup live online via Live Sports Network.

Group A pits newly crowned moneybags Manchester City against Dutch side FC Twente, currently managed by former England boss and second-rate Dutch impersonator Steve McClaren. City recently crashed out of the English League Cup to lowly Brighton and whilst cruising through relatively easily to this stage they will want to progress much further. Twente, 6^th in the Dutch league, were dumped out of the Champions League qualifying rounds by Arsenal so won’t want to fall to two English clubs in quick succession. Schalke 04, riding high in 5^th spot in the Bundesliga, will also provide stern opposition whilst Paris St Germain and Racing Santander, whilst neither are setting the world alight in their respective domestic leagues, are not teams to be taken lightly.

Ukrainian representatives Metalist Kharkiv who lie 3^rd in their home league - the same spot that they finished last season - have beene drawn alongside Greek league pacemakers Olympiakos together with Portuguese giants Benfica and the passionately followed Turkish side Galatasaray. With Hertha Berlin providing German interest and all of the aforementioned 3 holding top 8 spots in their domestic competitions, this should be a keely-contested group.

In a group with Italian interest, it would not be an automatic deduction that their representatives would be possible underdogs but that is surely what Sampdoria are in Group C. Lying 17^th in Serie A, they have been thrown into battle with four teams all of whom are top 3. Serbian champions Partizan Belgrade join Standard Liege, Stuttgart and former winners Seville in providing a substantial barrier to progression for the Italians. 

Spurs fans must have known that this one was coming. Tottenham had a dreadful start to the season and lie firmly in the bottom three of the English Premier League. To find that their group D opponents consist of Spartak Moscow and Dinamo Zagreb not to mention Serie A second placed Udinese will add to the already frayed nerves at White Hart Lane. NEC Nijmegen would possibly have been originally considered to be making up the numbers but with Spurs current lack of form, one or two good performances could see any 3 from 5 progress from this group.

Portsmouth’s ultimate reward for winning the English FA Cup last season was a place in this seasons UEFA Cup. Having reached the group stages, a draw against Italian greats AC Milan continues the dream ride. The front line of Defoe and Crouch should give Pompey a real chance of making it through with Wolfsburg, Braga and Heerenveen the other opposition but clearly all play second fiddle in the group to the former European champions from Italy. 

Bundesliga leaders Hamburg must enter the matches in group F with confidence. Ajax start at Villa Park and Martin O’Neill’s men can force themselves into a challenging position for progress with a positive start against equally strong candidates for one of the three top spots. However, Slavia Prague will have no intentions of simply making up the numbers as they head their own league and MSK Zilina are also performing well in the Slovakian league so it would be a brave soul to bet on the final 3 from this group.

Group G sees La Liga leaders Valencia top a list of well-known European names with Club Brugge, Rosenberg, FC Copenhagen and Saint-Etienne competing for continued European football well into the New Year. Valencia, twice the bridesmaid but never the bride in the Champions League, won the UEFA Cup in 2004 in additional to the La Liga title and appear hot favourites to got through leaving the rest to battle it out for two spots.

Group H would at first glance appear to be another fairly open group. 2005 winners CSKA Moscow face Spanish opposition in the shape of Deportivo La Coruna with the Dutch and French leagues represented by Feyenoord and Nancy respectively. There is Polish interest in the form of Lech Poznan who have performed well to reach this stage and could prove a surprise package.

All in all, some very exciting live football to watch over the coming weeks. Historic clubs playing for continued live European football into 2009 and some of the best players in the world competing on one of the biggest stages. You can catch all the action via live online streaming of the UEFA Cup on Live Sports Network.