NYON, Oct 3 (SW) - The UEFA Cup group stage was drawn this afternoon at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, with holders Sevilla facing a tricky path to the Round of 32.

With representatives from the qualified clubs watching, the forty clubs were drawn into eight groups, with each club playing four matches starting at the end of the month.

UEFA Cup holders Sevilla face a challenge if they wish to advance out of Group A, facing AZ Alkmaar and Czech champions Slovan Liberec, as well as Sporting Braga and Swiss league leader's Grasshoppers Zurich.

Arguably the most competitive group is Group H, which pits England's Newcastle United, Spain's Celta Vigo, Serie A's Palermo, Turkish giants Fenerbahce and Eintracht Frankfurt against one another.

The top three clubs in each group advance to the Round of 32, where they will be joined by the eight squads that finish third in their respective Champions League groups.

The eight UEFA Cup groups are as follows:

Group A: Auxerre, Rangers, Partizan Belgrade, Livorno, Maccabi Haifa

Group B: Bayer Leverkusen, Club Brugge, Besiktas Istanbul, Dinamo Bucharest, Tottenham Hotspur

Group C: Sevilla, AZ Alkmaar, Slovan Liberec, Grasshoppers Zurich, Braga

Group D: Parma, RC Lens, Heerenveen, Osasuna, OB Odense

Group E: Feyenoord, FC Basel, Wisla Krakow, Blackburn Rovers, AS Nancy

Group F: Ajax Amsterdam, Sparta Prague, Espanyol, Austria Wien, Zulte Waregem

Group G: Panathinaikos, Paris Saint-Germain, Rapid Bucharest, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Mlada Boleslav

Group H: Newcastle United, Celta Vigo, Palermo, Fenerbahce, Eintracht Frankfurt