The group stage starts on October 25 and Matchday 1 has a very tasty matchup. Former European champions FK Crvena Zvezda and FC Bayern München meet in Belgrade. “Red Star” will be hoping to maintain their unbeaten home record against “FC Hollywood”, while the German giants are heavy favourites to win the UEFA Cup this season.

Here are the groupings for the UEFA Cup group stage. I have highlighted my picks to advance. Please feel free to comment or e-mail your thoughts on the draw and who you think are the favourites at this stage. You can reach me at scout [at] championsleaguetalk.com

Group A:
AZ Alkmaar (Holland)
Zenit St Petersburg (Russia)
Everton (England)
Nuremberg (Germany)
Larissa (Greece)

Group B:
Panathinaikos (Greece)
Lokomotiv Moscow (Russia)
Atletico Madrid (Spain)
FC Copenhagen (Denmark)
Aberdeen (Scotland)

Group C:
Villarreal (Spain)
AEK Athens (Greece)
Fiorentina (Italy)
Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic)
Elfsborg (Sweden)

Group D:
FC Basle (Switzerland)
Hamburg (Germany)
Rennes (France)
Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
Brann Bergen (Norway)

Group E:
Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)
Sparta Prague (Czech Republic)
Spartak Moscow (Russia)
Toulouse (France)
FC Zurich (Switzerland)

Group F:
Bayern Munich (Germany)
Bolton Wanderers (England)
Braga (Portugal)
Crvena Zvezda (Serbia)
Aris Thessaloniki (Greece)

Group G:
Anderlecht (Belgium)
Tottenham Hotspur (England)
Getafe (Spain)
Hapoel Tel Aviv (Israel)
AaB Aalborg (Denmark)

Group H:
Bordeaux (France)
Austria Vienna (Austria)
Galatasaray (Turkey)
Panionios (Greece)
Helsingborg (Sweden)