Newcastle United Europa League Draw: 5 Possible Opponents

Ahead of today's Europa League Fourth Qualifying Round draw, it has been confirmed that Newcastle United have been chosen as one of the 31 seeded sides, and have been placed in Group 1. Most importantly for eager Toon fans, that means that the club now know the five possible opponents they might face in their first game back in Europe. The five teams alongside Pardew's Magpies in Group 1 are as follows: FC Vaslui (Romania) Atromitos FC (Greece) Anzhi Makhachkala (Russia) Tromsø IL (Norway) Neftçi PFK (Azerbaijan) Of those five, the Greek side probably look like the most attractive, thanks to the promise of a little bit of midweek sun, and a more pleasant travelling time than Romania, Azerbaijan or particularly Russia. Norway might look good, and it would be nice to see the travelling Toon Army linking up with the legion of Norwegian Geordies who make regular trips over to the North East by ferry, but £10 for a pint of beer is not the most attractive of prospects. There are some vaguely familiar faces in among the possible opponent squads - Atromitos include former Liverpool 'keeper Charles Itandje, ex-Gunner Stathis Tavlaridis and Njazi Kuqi, younger brother of brief ex-Mag Shefki, while Anzhi currently own Samuel Eto'o, Chris Samba and former Chelsea flop Yuri Zhirkov. None of the teams are to be sniffed at, but Anzhi would certainly be the worst possible draw based on travel requirements and the comparative quality and experience of the squad. The draw will take place in Nyon, Switzerland at 12.30pm BST today, with the Fourth Qualifying Round ties being played over the following two slots:

Wed 22th or Thurs 23rd August Wed 29th or Thurs 30th August Alan Pardew will be hoping that the first leg is drawn at St. James' Park, and preferably on the Wednesday, given the fact that Newcastle will face Chelsea on Saturday 25th at 5.30pm, and could potentially face two punishing matches in two days, and a trek to the far end of Russia to boot. According to UEFA, the first club drawn will play the first leg at home, but that's not quite concrete, with the possibility of a change (which Newcastle will hope for if the draw goes against them).