Bayern Munich given tricky group in UEFA Cup

The Bundesliga leaders and tournament favourites take on Bolton Wanderers, SC Braga, Aris Thessaloniki and Red Star Belgrade in Group F.

 But with the top three sides progressing, Ottmar Hitzfeld's side should still have little trouble making it to the next stage.

 In Group D, SV Hamburg have also been handed a tough task with Basel, Stade Rennes, Dinamo Zagreb and Brann Bergen forming the opposition.

 But English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur will be confident of making it out of Group G, which also consists of Anderlecht, Getafe, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Aalborg BK.

 Martin Jol's side are unbeaten in six matches and the under-fire Dutch coach will be looking to progress as far in the tournament as he can to ensure he stays in his job.

 Bayer Leverkusen will expecting to be among the qualifiers from Group E, which also includes Sparta Prague, Spartak Moscow, Toulouse and Zurich.

 In Group A, Dutch side AZ Alkmaar are up against Zenit St. Petersburg, Everton, German Cup holders Nuremberg and Larissa while in Group C, Spanish side Villarreal and Fiorentina of the Italian Serie A should prove too strong for AEK Athens, Mlada Boleslav and IF Elfsborg.

 Panathinaikos Athens, Lokomotiv Moscow, Atletico Madrid, Copenhagen and Aberdeen meet in Group B while in Group H, Girondins Bordeaux take on Austria Vienna, Turkish side Galatasaray, Panionios and Helsingborg.

 Group matches will take place on October 25, November 8, November 29, December 5/6 and 19/20.

 The top three teams from each group progress to the last 32 where they will be joined by the eight third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage.

DPA