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UEFA holders CSKA face Midtylland

Coach Valery Gazzaev tunes up CSKA for the Super Cup final

MONACO -- Holders CSKA Moscow will start the defense of the UEFA Cup against FC Midtylland of Denmark following the draw for the first round of the competition in Monaco on Friday.

CSKA, in Monaco for Friday's Super Cup match against European champions Liverpool, became the first Russian side to lift a European trophy when they defeated Sporting 3-1 in the final in Lisbon last May.

Sporting, back in the UEFA Cup after being knocked out in the third qualifying round of the Champions League, will meet Halmstad, currently in a relegation battle in Sweden.

Bayer Leverkusen of Germany, who won the UEFA Cup in 1988 and were runners-up in the Champions League final in 2002, face a tough task against CSKA Sofia, who were eliminated from the Champions League third qualifying round by Liverpool on Tuesday.

Everton, who on Wednesday were knocked out at the final hurdle of the Champions League qualification, have to take on Dinamo Bucharest of Romania.

Another of the Champions League losers, Monaco, will face Willem II from the Netherlands.

High expectations

Everton chief executive Keith Wynass said the club had high expectations.

"We really need to go as far as we can in this competition," he said. "Certainly reaching the last 32 to make it financially viable. It could be a long slog through Europe for us."

Monaco president Michel Pastor said he still had "some regrets" after the principality side's elimination to Real Betis, but that the UEFA Cup was a chance for his players to make amends.

"We need to put in an honorable performance," Pastor said. "Now our team needs to show its capacities and to go as far as possible."

Marseille's sporting director Pape Diouf said playing against Belgian side Antwerp would not be easy, despite the 5-1 win over Deportivo La Coruna which enabled 1993 European champion Marseille to make the draw.

"We need to respect the opponent," Diouf said. "We should know as it was not easy to get past La Coruna. We did it because I think they did not show enough humility. But we will not fall into this trap."

In other matchups, Bolton Wanderers were drawn against Bulgarian side Lokomotiv Plovdiv, and Middlesbrough against Greece's Xanthi.

The first leg matches will be played on September 15, with the return leg scheduled for two weeks later.

The 40 teams who survive the first round will advance to a group stage comprising eight groups of five clubs before the competition reverts to a knockout phase next spring.

The final is in Eindhoven on May 10.

Draw

Auxerre (France) v Levski Sofia (Bulgaria), Aris Salonika (Greece) v AS Roma (Italy), Monaco (France) v Willem II Tilburg (Netherlands), Banik Ostrava (Czech Republic) v Heerenveen (Netherlands), Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) v CSKA Sofia (Bulgaria), Besiktas (Turkey) v Malmo (Sweden), Bolton Wanderers (England) v Lokomotiv Plovdiv (Bulgaria), Brondby (Denmark) v FC Zurich (Switzerland), Red Star Belgrade (Serbia and v Braga (Portugal), CSKA Moscow (Russia) v Midtjylland (Denmark), Dinamo Bucharest (Romania) v Everton (England).

Basel (Switzerland) v Siroki Brijeg (Bosnia & Herzegovina), Litex Lovech (Bulgaria) v Racing Genk (Belgium), Feyenoord (Netherlands) v Rapid Bucharest (Romania), Teplice (Czech Republic) v Espanyol (Spain), Germinal Beerschot (Belgium) v Olympique Marseille (France), Graz AK (Austria) v Racing Strasbourg (France), Halmstad (Sweden) v Sporting Lisbon (Portugal), Hamburg SV (Germany) v FC Copenhagen (Denmark), Hertha Berlin (Germany) v APOEL Nicosia (Cyprus), Hibernian (Scotland) v Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine), Krylya Sovietov Samara (Russia) v AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands).

Lokomotiv Moscow (Russia) v Brann Bergen (Norway), Maccabi Petah Tikva (Israel) v Partizan Belgrade (Serbia and Montenegro), Metalurg Donetsk (Ukraine) v PAOK Salonika (Greece), Middlesbrough (England) v Xanthi (Greece), MyPa Myllykoski (Finland) v Grasshoppers (Switzerland), Palermo (Italy) v Anorthosis Famagusta (Cyprus), Racing Lens (France) v Groclin Grodzisk (Poland), Stade Rennes (France) v Osasuna (Spain), Sevilla (Spain) v Mainz (Germany), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) v Debrecen (Hungary), Slavia Prague (Czech Republic) v Cork City (Ireland).

Tromso (Norway) v Galatasaray (Turkey), Valerenga Oslo (Norway) v Steaua Bucharest (Romania), VfB Stuttgart (Germany) v Domzale (Slovenia), Viking Stavanger (Norway) v Austria Vienna (Austria), Vitoria Guimaraes (Portugal) v Wisla Krakow (Poland), Vitoria Setubal (Portugal) v Sampdoria (Italy), Zenit St Petersburg (Russia) v AEK Athens (Greece)

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