PAOK to meet Panathinaikos conqueror Qabala in Europa League
PAOK will meet FK Qabala of Azerbaijan, conqueror of Panathinaikos, in the group stage of the Europe League.
Friday's draw also pitted the Thessaloniki side against German giant Borussia Dortmund and Krasnodar of Russia. The other Greek side that qualified for the group stage of the tournament, Asteras Tripolis, will play another German powerhouse, Schalke, as well as Apoel Nicosia of Cyprus and Sparta Prague of the Czech Republic.
The group phase will be played from September 17 to December 10 with the top two from each group reaching the knock-out rounds where they will be joined by eight teams eliminated from the Champions League.
Panathinaikos was eliminated by Qabala on Thursday night. The visiting side gained a 2-2 draw at the Apostolos Nikolaidis stadium in Athens, allowing it to advance to the next stage on the away goals rule. The Greens had drawn the first leg 0-0 in Azerbaijan.
The groups are as follows:
Group A: Ajax (NED), Celtic (SCO), Fenerbahce (TUR), Molde (NOR)
Group B: Rubin Kazan (RUS), Liverpool (ENG), Bordeaux (FRA), Sion (SUI)
Group C: Borussia Dortmund (GER), PAOK (GRE), Krasnodar (RUS), Qabala (AZE)
Group D: Napoli (ITA), Club Brugge (BEL), Legia Warsaw (POL), Midjtylland (DEN)
Group E: Villarreal (ESP), Viktoria Plzen (CZE), Rapid Vienna (AUT), Dinamo Minsk (BLR)
Group F: Marseille (FRA), Sporting Braga (POR), Slovan Liberec (CZE), Groningen (NED)
Group G: Dnipropetrovsk (UKR), Lazio (ITA), Saint-Etienne (FRA), Rosenborg (NOR)
Group H: Sporting Lisbon (POR), Besiktas (TUR), Lokomotiv Moscow (RUS), Skenderbeu (ALB)
Group I: Basel (SUI), Fiorentina (ITA), Lech Poznan (POL), Belenenses (POR)
Group J: Tottenham (ENG), Anderlecht (BEL), Monaco (FRA), Qarabag (AZE)
Group K: Schalke 04 (GER), Apoel Nicosia (CYP), Sparta Prague (CZE), Asteras Tripolis (GRE)
Group L: Athletic Bilbao (ESP), AZ Alkmaar (NED), Augsburg (GER), Partizan Belgrade (SRB)
