Newcastle have fared well in their last two forays in the UEFA Cup, reaching the semi-finals in 2004. They went down 2-0 on aggregate to Didier Drogba’s Marseille, while Sporting Lisbon ended their dreams in the quarter-finals a year later as a 2-0 aggregate lead dissolved into a 4-2 defeat.
Bookmakers Ladbrokes make Roeder’s side 1/3 to qualify from the group stage – the top three teams in each group will go through to the last 32 along with the eight third-placed teams from the Champions league.
However, at 20/1 to win the trophy, Spurs are ahead of them in the betting at 10/1. Holders Sevilla are favourites at 5/1.
GROUP A: Auxerre, Rangers, Partizan Belgrade, Livorno, Maccabi Haifa.
GROUP B: Bayer Leverkusen, Club Bruges, Besiktas, Dinamo Bucharest, Tottenham.
GROUP C: Seville, AZ Alkmaar, Slovan Liberec, Grasshoppers, Braga.
GROUP D: Parma, Lens, Heerenveen, Osasuna, Odense BK.
GROUP E: Feyenoord, Basle, Wisla Krakow, Blackburn Rovers, AS Nancy
GROUP F: Ajax, Sparta Prague, Espanyol, Austria Magna, Zulte Wagerem.
GROUP G: Panathinaikos, Paris St-Germain, Rapid Bucharest, Hapoel Tel-Aviv, Mlada Boleslav.
GROUP H: Newcastle Utd, Celta Vigo, Palermo, Fenerbahce, Eintracht Frankfurt
GROUP G: Panathinaikos, Paris St-Germain, Rapid Bucharest, Hapoel Tel-Aviv, Mlada Boleslav.
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