Liverpool could be paired with tough Europa League opposition when the draw for the Group Stage is made on Friday afternoon.
The Reds’ form on the continent has declined drastically in recent years, and the Anfield faithful must be prepared to be picked out of pot two for the first time in the competition’s history when the groups are decided in Monaco.
Ahead of what is always an eagerly-anticipated date on the calendar of many European football fans, Ashley Thornton-Jones previews EVERYTHING you need to know about the draw.
Who are the main threats from pot one?
Borussia Dortmund remain the stand-out team from this pot. The Germans are punching below their weight in this competition and hit ELEVEN goals past Norweigan side Odds in their play-off tie. Fellow Bundesliga side Schalke are also Champions League regulars, as are Napoli, and both would be tough to face. Likewise, trips to Spanish duo Athletic Bilbao and Villarreal could be difficult, and although they’re arguably the worst team from the pot, Dnipro seem to turn it on when it comes to this competition and they’d be a tough away fixture along with Rubin Kazan. To be paired with Ajax, Bordeaux or Sporting would probably give us the best chance of top spot, as none are the force they once were, but the thought of being paired with Basel to get revenge for last year is also a tempting one.
And what about pot two? Who are we avoiding?
Reds fans should be glad to miss out on being possibly paired with Fiorentina and Lazio, whilst I don’t think anyone fancied a trip back to Besiktas either. Likewise, long journeys to APOEL Nicosia, Viktoria Plzen and PAOK wouldn’t have been great – if only for the travelling time. A match against Celtic could’ve been a special atmosphere, and we would probably have won which is what is important. Likewise, I would’ve expected us to do well against Club Brugge, AZ Alkmaar and Braga too.
And pot three? Is it getting easier?
Generally, yes, but there are still a few teams that could pose us a few problems. Fenerbahce are the stand-out team that everyone will want to avoid having added Robin van Persie and Nani to their arsenal this summer, whilst Monaco could also trouble us. Those aside, we should fancy our chances against the majority of teams from this pot and Brendan Rodgers is likely to be hoping for a short trip to nearby Rapid Vienna, Augsburg or Slovan Liberec, although a journey across the channel to play Bordeaux or Saint-Etienne would be even more advantageous if he wants a a quick trip. Lengthy treks to eastern Europe where we would face Legia Warsaw, Lokomotiv Moscow or Kuban Krasnador could prove difficult, but again, you’d expect our quality to prevail.
What about pot four? Surely nobody that’ll trouble us?
You wouldn’t think so. Long trips will be our biggest concern here, and there is a few that we could be forced into. Azerbaijan duo Qarabag and Gabala won’t be too pleasent to visit, nor will Albania’s Skenderbeu Korce or Belarus’ Dinamo Minsk. Getting paired with Astereas Tripolis or Partizan Belgrade would be lengthy too but Spurs came through both tests last year and so i’d expect us to cope too. Likewise, visiting Holland’s Groningen shouldn’t pose too many problems, nor would a visit to Scandanavia to face Rosenborg, Molde or Midtjylland. Getting paired with Swiss outfit FC Sion would be a good outcome too.
So, considering all that, what’s our toughest possible draw?
On just quality alone, it’ll be Dortmund, Fenerbahce and Partizan Belgrade. We beat the Germans in a friendly last year (and very convicingly), but they seem re-energised after a poor season last time out. I imagine Nani and Robin van Persie would love the opportunity to face us and although they’re somewhat past it at a Premier League level, it would be naive to think they couldn’t cause us problems.
And what about the easiest possible draw?
Again, on quality alone, it’d be Rubin Kazan, Slovan Liberec and Gabala. For the former two, I wouldn’t say it’s anything against their quality, but more of a testament to how strong the teams seem to be this year – at least across the first three pots. As for the latter, i’ve never heard of them, but i’d expect us to do the double over any of the teams from pot four.
What about in terms of travel? How bad could it get in terms of that?
There are a number of combinations that could result in a lot of air miles, but stastically, getting paired with Dnipro, Krasnador and Qarabag would rack up the most travelling time. A flight from Liverpool to Kiev would take about seven hours, whilst indirect trips to Ukraine and Albania would be about the same give or take 30 minutes.
And what about the shortest?
Getting paired with Schalke, Monaco and Groningen would as pleasent as it could come in terms of minimal air time. Flights to main airports of all three countries are no longer than two-and-a-half hours away, with another hour or so travelling time to get to each respective city.
Stay tuned to Read Liverpool’s Twitter feed from 12pm Friday to find out who we’ve got.
