2011/12 UEFA Europa League group stage


Groups are set and here they are:

Group A
Tottenham Hotspur FC (ENG)
FC Rubin Kazan (RUS)
PAOK FC (GRE)
Shamrock Rovers FC (IRL)

Group B
FC København (DEN)
R. Standard de Liège (BEL)
Hannover 96 (GER)
FC Vorskla Poltava (UKR)

Group C
PSV Eindhoven (NED)
Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)
FC Rapid Bucureşti (ROU)
Legia Warszawa (POL)

Group D
Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)
S.S. Lazio (ITA)
FC Zürich (SUI)
FC Vaslui (ROU)

Group E
FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)
Beşiktaş JK (TUR)
Stoke City FC (ENG)
Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)

Group F
Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA)
Athletic Club (ESP)
FC Salzburg (AUT)
ŠK Slovan Bratislava (SVK)

Group G
AZ Alkmaar (NED)
FC Metalist Kharkiv (UKR)
FK Austria Wien (AUT)
Malmö FF (SWE)

Group H
SC Braga (POR)
Club Brugge KV (BEL)
Birmingham City FC (ENG)
NK Maribor (SVN)

Group I
Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP)
Udinese Calcio (ITA)
Stade Rennais FC (FRA)
FC Sion (SUI)

Group J
FC Schalke 04 (GER)
FC Steaua Bucureşti (ROU)
Maccabi Haifa FC (ISR)
AEK Larnaca FC (CYP)

Group K
FC Twente (NED)
Fulham FC (ENG)
Odense BK (DEN)
Wisła Kraków (POL)

Group L
RSC Anderlecht (BEL)
AEK Athens FC (GRE)
FC Lokomotiv Moskva (RUS)
SK Sturm Graz (AUT)

So who do YOU think will advance out of each of the groups to the next round?

Here are my predictions:

Group A – Tottenham Hotspur FC (ENG) and FC Rubin Kazan (RUS)

Group B – R. Standard de Liège (BEL) and Hannover 96 (GER)

Group C – PSV Eindhoven (NED) and Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)

Group D – Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR) and S.S. Lazio (ITA)

Group E – Stoke City FC (ENG) and Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)

Group F – Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA) and ŠK Slovan Bratislava (SVK)

Group G – FC Metalist Kharkiv (UKR) and Malmö FF (SWE)

Group H – SC Braga (POR) and Birmingham City FC (ENG)

Group I – Udinese Calcio (ITA) and Stade Rennais FC (FRA)

Group J – FC Schalke 04 (GER) and Maccabi Haifa FC (ISR)

Group K – Fulham FC (ENG) and Wisła Kraków (POL)

Group L – RSC Anderlecht (BEL) and FC Lokomotiv Moskva (RUS)

UEFA Europa League: Shamrock Rovers FC – FK Partizan 1:1 (0:1)


UEFA Europa League logoPartizan has a way of playing with my nerves and driving me crazy at times and they certainly didn’t “disappoint” this time. They tied Shamrock Rovers in Dublin, Ireland which is actually a fair result considering they played well and dominated the first half and then started messing things up during the second half.
Rematch is on August 25th in Belgrade where I expect Partizan to win in front of some 30,000 fans (Grobari) and qualify into the UEFA Europa League.

Here are the goals from the match: