There will be an Anglo-Scottish battle in the Europa League with Tottenham Hotspur drawn against Heart of Midlothian.Hearts won through to this stage by beating Hungarian side Paks 4-1 at Tynecastle for a 5-1 aggregate success.It gave new coach Paulo Sergio a winning start in his first match since succeeding Jim Jeffries and earned the Edinburgh club an intriguing tie with Spurs.It will be the first ever competitive meeting between the two sides and, in drawing the Scottish side, Spurs avoided a tricky-looking tie against Turkish side Trabzonspor.Harry Redknapp's men will travel to Edinburgh on 18th August, with the return leg at White Hart Lane a week later.Stoke City will also be away in the first leg as they face Swiss side side Thun who beat Italian side Palermo on away goals in the third qualifying round.The Potters won through to the play-off stage by beating Hadjuk Split 1-0 both home and away.Thun reached the group stages of the Champions League in 2005/06 and are sure to provide a tough test for Tony Pulis and his men.They finished fifth in the Swiss League and are coached by the veteran Swiss Bernard Challandes.Fulham face a long trek to the Ukraine to meet Dnipro who lost to Lech Poznan at this stage last season. Managed by former Spurs boss Juande Ramos, the club qualified for the competition after finishing fourth in the Soviet Top League last season.The Cottagers, who qualified for the competition via the Fair Play League, have already played three rounds and reached this stage beating RNK Split 2-0 at Craven Cottage after a goalless draw in Croatia.Fulham reached the Europa League final in 2010 losing 2-1 to Atletico Madrid in Hamburg.If Martin Jol's men are to reach the final again, they will have to play 23 matches in the competition.Carling Cup winners Birmingham City, relegated from the Barclays Premier League last season, take on Portuguese side Nacional.The ties will be played on Thursday 18th and 25th August.
No comments:
Post a Comment