I think I am one of the few people in the blog/media realm that seems to enjoy the Europa League (formerly UEFA Cup). I’ve always looked at it as a great way to get more cultured in European football and see some of the up and coming stars before the big clubs swoop in for them. That said, this competition can be quite long to follow, especially if you try and follow the qualifiers. Thankfully we are at the group stage and the field has been ‘narrowed’ down to 48 clubs from 24 nations.
I won’t do a group-by-group breakdown but I will post a feature on the favourites to win such as last season’s champions Club Atlético de Madrid and the side they beat in the semi-finals last season – Liverpool FC. Others I would rank among the favourites to make it to the late stages are Sevilla FC, Manchester City FC and FC Porto. However, the third-place finishers from the Champions League are parachuted into this competition during the next phase so a re-evaluation of favourites is always necessary.
For now, here are the groupings.
| 2010/11 UEFA Europa League group stage | |
| Group A | Group B |
| Juventus | Club Atlético de Madrid |
| Manchester City FC | Bayer 04 Leverkusen |
| FC Salzburg | Rosenborg BK |
| KKS Lech Pozna? | Aris Thessaloniki FC |
| Group C | Group D |
| Sporting Clube de Portugal | Villarreal CF |
| LOSC Lille Métropole | Club Brugge KV |
| PFC Levski Sofia | NK Dinamo Zagreb |
| KAA Gent | PAOK FC |
| Group E | Group F |
| AZ Alkmaar | PFC CSKA Moskva |
| FC Dynamo Kyiv | US Città di Palermo |
| FC BATE Borisov | AC Sparta Praha |
| FC Sheriff | FC Lausanne-Sport |
| Group G | Group H |
| FC Zenit St. Petersburg | VfB Stuttgart |
| RSC Anderlecht | Getafe CF |
| AEK Athens FC | Odense BK |
| HNK Hajduk Split | BSC Young Boys |
| Group I | Group J |
| PSV Eindhoven | Sevilla FC |
| UC Sampdoria | Paris Saint-Germain FC |
| FC Metalist Kharkiv | BV Borussia Dortmund |
| Debreceni VSC | FC Karpaty Lviv |
| Group K | Group L |
| Liverpool FC | FC Porto |
| FC Steaua Bucure?ti | Be?ikta? JK |
| SSC Napoli | PFC CSKA Sofia |
| FC Utrecht | SK Rapid Wien |
