UEFA Europa League Draw: Classic Ajax-Juve Pairing

In addition to the Champions League being drawn on Friday, UEFA drew the pairings for the Europa League's Round of 32.  

As with the draw for the premier tournament, the second-level event divided its participants into two pots.  The first pot contained the 12 group winners plus the four best third-place finishers from Champions League group stage.  The second pot contained the 12 second place teams plus the four other Champions League relegates.

The result is the following two pots (clubs listed in order by group, A through L, followed up the Champions League teams added to their pot):

Winners Pot: Anderlecht (Belgium), Valencia (Spain), Hapoel Tel Aviv (Israel), Sporting CP (Portugal), Roma (Italy), Galatasaray (Turkey), Salzberg (Austria), Fenerbahçe (Turkey), Benfica (Portugal), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands), Werder Bermen (Germany), Unirea Urziceni (Romania), Juventus (Italy), Wolfsburg (Germany), Marseille (France)

Runners-up Pot: Ajax (Netherlands), Lille (France), Hamburg (Germany), Hertha BSC (Germany), Fulham (England), Panathinaikos (Greece), Villareal (Spain), Twente (Netherlands), Everton (England), Club Brugge (Belgium), Copenhagen (Denmark), Athletic Bilbao (Spain), Liverpool (England), Rubin Kazan (Russia), Standard Liège (Belgium), Atlético Madrid (Spain)

Here is the result of Friday's draw, and while this is the "second" UEFA tournament, a quick glance at the teams finds a number of historic clubs, up-and-coming sides, and intriguing match-ups:

The team on the left will host the first of the two legs:

Europa League is evolving into the most intriguing version of this competition in years, though it remains to be seen how seriously clubs like Liverpool and Juventus approach the tournament.  Regardless, I'll be watching as often this tournament with the lesser prestige produces more entertaining (not necessarily similar) play.

The first legs will be held on February 18, 2010, with the exception of Everton's match with Sporting, which is schedule to take place on February 16.   Each second leg will be played on February 25 with the exception of matches at Benfica and Galatasaray, which will kick-off on February 23.

Winners

1. Benfica - Their match-up with Hertha may pit the most dangerous side from the Winners Pot against the weakest side from the Runners-up.  Benfica and its stellar attack lead the Liga Sagres while Hertha is in last in the German Bundesliga.
2. Rubin Kazan - they will lose out-of-contract Alejandro Domínguez to Valencia but avoid one of the better defending teams in the Winners Pot.  Hapoel, allowing eight goals in six groups stage matches, may not have the attack to break down a defense that held Barcelona to one goal in 180 minutes.
3. Liverpool - Word is Rafa Benitez is going to focus on regaining a Champions League spot in England, and if he drew Benfica, Valencia, Shakhtar or Roma, that could have made for a quick exit.  While Unirea may still win this tie, Liverpool has a better chance of avoiding early Europa League disappointment.

Losers

1. Fulham - The Cottagers draw the defending champions and have to play the second leg on the road.  Fulham's second European adventure could come to a bitter end on a cold Ukrainian night.  Their earlier visit to Amkar Perm ended in a 1-0 loss to the struggling Russian side, but that was on the back of a 3-1 win in London.
2. Wolfsburg - The defending champions of Germany take on a Villareal side that has had a resurgence since early season struggles.  Villareal has the players and acumen to exploit Wolfsburg's defending deficiencies.  Then again, don't we all.
3. Werder Bremen - A tough day for the Bundesliga's Europa sides sees a Bremen team having suggest troubles in attack matched with an FC Twente side that defends well.  Last year's runners-up in the UEFA Cup will need to regain their early-season form if they are to unlock Steve McLaren's defense.

Best Match-Ups

1. Juventus-Ajax
2. Valencia-Club Brugge
3. PSV Eindhoven-Hamburg
4. Werder Bremen-Twente
5. Wolfsburg-Villareal

Early Picks

Rubin Kazan 3-1 Hapoel Tel Aviv
Anderlecht 3-2 Athletic Bilbao
Marseille 5-2 Copenhagen
Roma 3-0 Panathinaikos
Galatasary 4-3 Atlético Madrid
Ajax 5-2 Juventus
Valencia 5-3 Club Brugge
Shakhtar Donetsk 4-2 Fulham
Liverpool 2-1 Unirea Unziceni
PSV Eindhoven 4-3 Hamburg
Villareal 4-2 Wolfsburg
Standard Liège 3-2 Red Bull Salzburg
Twente 3-2 Werder Bremen
Fenerbahçe 5-4 Lille
Everton 3-1 Sporting CP
Benfica 7-0 Hertha BSC

And since Friday's draw also bracketed the pairings to determine their Round of 16 match-ups, we can see the match-ups, should the above predictions hold (oh, come on, it's fun):

PSV Eindhoven vs. Anderlecht
Rubin Kazan vs. Villareal
Galatasaray vs. Everton
Benfica vs. Marseille
Roma vs. Standard Liège
Fenerbahçe vs. Liverpool
Ajax vs. Shahktar Donetsk
Valencia vs. Twente

We could see both Liverpool teams matched against both Istanbul sides, and we could see Benfica and Marseille combine for sixteen goals (maybe fewer). 

Any other "brave" souls dare to make some Europa League predictions?