2011/12 UEFA Europa League: Round of 32/16 draw out

The draw for the Round of 32 and pre-quarterfinals (Round of 16) for the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League was carried out yesterday in Nyon, Switzerland. And there are some mouth watering clashes coming early next year.

Defending champions FC Porto take on English Premier League leaders Manchester City, while their city rivals Manchester United face Ajax Amsterdam. The other English entrant left Stoke City have to take on the mighty FC Valencia, while Lazio Roma have been paired with Atletico Madrid. In a low country derby AZ Alkmaar take on Belgian giants RSC Anderlecht.

The Round of 32 matches will be played on February 16 and 23, while the Round of 16 games are scheduled to take place on March 8 and 15.


The Fixtures

Round of 32
FC Porto - Manchester City
AFC Ajax Amsterdam - Manchester United
FC Lokomotiv Moscow - Athletic Bilbao
RedBulls Salzburg - Metalist Kharkiv
Stoke City - FC Valencia
Rubin Kasan - Olympiacos Piräus
AZ Alkmaar - RSC Anderlecht
SS Lazio Roma - Atletico Madrid
Steaua Bucharest - FC Twente Enschede
Viktoria Plzen - FC Schalke 04
Wisla Krakau - Standard Liege
Sporting Braga - Besiktas Istanbul
Udinese Calcio - PAOK Saloniki
Trabzonspor AS - PSV Eindhoven
Hannover 96 - FC Brugge
Legia Warsaw - Sporting Lisboa

Round of 16
Salzburg/Metalist - Rubin/Olympiacos
Legia/Sporting - Porto/Manchester City
Steaua/Twente - Plzen/Schalke
Wisla/Standard - Hannover/Club Brugge
Stoke/Valencia - Trabzonspor/PSV
AZ/Anderlecht - Udinese/PAOK
Lazio/Atlético - Braga/Besiktas
Ajax/Manchester United - Lokomotiv/Athletic