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Following the Champions League Draw on Friday, the names were pulled out of the hat for the last 32 of the Europa League. With British interest remaining with Liverpool, Fulham and Everton, there looks to a be a lot of work for all three of them to do. The eight teams which finished third in their groups in the Champions League Group Stage, all joined up with the 24 teams who had already progressed through the early rounds of the Europa League. With the dominance of the Champions League, UEFA have been struggling to find a format which draws a lot of interest to the competition, and this is its latest incarnation. By introducing some big names, such as Juventus and Russian Champions Rubin Kazan as leftovers from the Champions League, it has been hoped that it will add a bit of fire to the competition.

It will probably be little consolation for those teams who have dropped out of the Champions League, but there is still some pride to play for, and at the end of the day, it is a piece of silverware. Liverpool, who fell behind Lyon and Fiorentina in their Champions League group, weren’t even seeded for the Europa League draw, and find themselves in a very interesting match up against Romanians Unirea Urziceni. Ex-Chelsea star Dan Petrescu’s men almost qualified for the knock-out stage, missing out by just one point to German side Stuttgart. Unirea Urziceni put in some good performances, most notably a great win against strong Spanish side Sevilla, and will test Liverpool’s resolve.

SkyBet are currently offering special bets on the market for the stage of Liverpool’s elimination from the competition. Shortest odds are on them going out in the last 16, at a price of 11/4 and you can get 6/1 on them making a final appearance, whether they win or lose. Check out SkyBet for more details, and new account holders can earn themselves a Free £10 Match Bet.

Fellow Merseysider’s Everton were drawn against Sporting Club Portugal (or more commonly, yet incorrectly known as Sporting Lisbon), who won their Europa League group by one point, without facing too much difficulty. Everton boss David Moyes has literally been plagued by injuries this season, and it is a testament to the man that Everton have even progressed to the last 32 of the European competition. Perhaps though, one of the main highlights of the draw involves Fulham. Yes, really. They were drawn against Shakhtar Donetsk from the Ukraine, who are one of the favourites to pick up the trophy. Fulham, who were at one point in the season performing much better in the Europa League than the Premier League, but the vast experience of boss Roy Hodgson has seen them challenge on two fronts.

The biggest fixture though of the Europa League draw involves Italian giants Juventus, who have been paired up against Dutch side Ajax. If Fulham can progress, they will face the winner of the Ajax vs Juventus match up. The two-legged ties will be played on February 18th and 25th (with a couple of exceptions, including Everton’s first leg which is on February 16th).

Europa League Draw (Match Prices in brackets)
FC Rubin Kazan v Hapoel Tel-Aviv
Athletic Club v RSC Anderlecht
FC Copenhagen v Marseille
Panathinaikos v Roma
Atlético Madrid v Galatasaray
Ajax (7/4) v Juventus (5/4) at SkyBet
Club Brugge v Valencia
Fulham (6/4) v Shakhtar Donetsk (6/4) at Blue Square
Liverpool (2/7) v Unirea Urziceni (15/2) at 888Sport
Hamburg v PSV Eindhoven
Villarreal v Wolfsburg
R. Standard Liège v FC Salzburg
FC Twente v Werder Bremen
Lille v Fenerbahçe
Everton (6/5) v Sporting Club Portugal (15/8) at BetFred
Hertha Berlin v Benfica

Top Six Europa League Outright Winner Prices
Liverpool – 13/2 at Totesport
Valencia – 12/1 at Blue Square
Juventus – 14/1 at Victor Chandler
Benfica – 14/1 at Bet365
Shakhtar Donetsk – 14/1 at Sporting Bet
Roma – 16/1 at BetFed

….other notable prices:
Everton – 25/1 at Bet365
Fulham – 66/1 at SkyBet
Rubin Kazan – 33/1 at Ladbrokes