THE draw for the UEFA Cup group stage has given Wanderers fans the chance to visit clubs the furthest east and west in mainland Europe.

And for culture vultures they will be visiting one of the oldest cities in the Western world then a World Heritage Site which was the first capital of another country.

The Turkish capital of Istanbul, which straddles Europe and Asia in the East, and Guimaraes, close to the Atlantic Ocean in Portugal, will be the venues for their latest European adventures after defeating Bulgarian side Lokomotiv Plovid in the first round.

Wanderers, in Group H, have drawn Istanbul side Besiktas, Vitoria Guimaraes of Portugal, Seville of Spain, and Zenit St Petersburg of Russia.

Wanderers will play two matches at home and two away on the following dates: October 20 (Beskitas, away), November 3 (Zenit St Petersburg, at the Reebok), November 24 (Vitoria Guimaraes, away), November 30/ December 1 (Carling Cup date, no game in UEFA Cup), and December 14 (Sevilla, at the Reebok).

Turkish side Besiktas are the top seeds in Wanderers' group, having thrashed Malmo with Souleymane Youla scoring a hat-trick in the away leg.

Spanish side Sevilla beat Mainz, Russian team FC Zenit saw off AEK Athens and Portuguese outfit Guimaraes won a tight tie against Wisla Krakow.

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GROUP A

Monaco (FRA) Slavia Prague (CZE) Hamburg (GER) CSKA Sofia (BUL) Viking FK (NOR)

GROUP B

Lokomotiv Moscow (RUS) Espanyol (SPA) Palermo (ITA) Brondby (DEN) Maccabi Petatch Tikva (ISR)

GROUP C

Hertha Berlin (GER) Lens (FRA) Sampdoria (ITA) Steaua Bucuresti (ROM) Halmstads BK (SWE)

GROUP D

AZ (NED) Middlesbrough (ENG) Dnipro (UKR) Grasshoppers (SWI) Liteks Lovetch (BUL)

GROUP E

Roma (ITA) Basle (SWI) Crvena Zvezda (SER) Strasbourg (FRA) Tromso (NOR)

GROUP F

CSKA Moscow (RUS) Marseille (FRA) Heerenveen (NED) Levski Sofia (BUL) Dinamo Bucuresti (ROM)

GROUP G

VfB Stuttgart (GER) PAOK Salonika (GRE) Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) Rennes (FRA) Rapid Bucuresti (ROM)

GROUP H

Besiktas (TUR) Sevilla (SPA) WANDERERS (ENG) Zenit St Petersburg (RUS) Vitoria Guimaraes (POR)

PREVIEW

Forty teams from 19 associations have made it through to this stage, including holders CSKA Moscow and all three UEFA Intertoto Cup winners, with the first round of matches falling on October 20.

France are represented by five teams, while Italy, Russia, Germany, Romania and Bulgaria have three clubs still in contention. The qualifiers have been divided into five pools of eight sides based on their UEFA coefficient.

A team from each seeding pool will be assigned to a group, although clubs from the same national association cannot be pitted together.

When the draw is finished - with eight sections of five teams - a computer draw will take place to determine the fixture schedule with factors such as stadium clashes and climatic conditions, as it is not possible to play in some northern countries in mid-December, taken into account.

Each club will play two matches at home and two away on the following dates: October 20, November 3, November 24, November 30/ December 1, and December 14/15. The winners, runners-up and third-placed sides from each group progress to the last 32 where they are joined by the eight third-placed teams from the UEFA Champions League group stage.

At this point, the traditional two-game format is used with the exception of the final. The competition climaxes at the Philips stadium in Eindhoven on May 10.

First seeds

ITA AS Roma

GER VfB Stuttgart

FRA AS Monaco FC

GER Hertha BSC Berlin

RUS FC Lokomotiv Moskva

TUR Besiktas JK

NED AZ Alkmaar

ESP Sevilla FC

Second seeds

FRA Olympique de Marseille*

GRE PAOK FC

CZE SK Slavia Praha

RUS PFC CSKA Moskva (holders)

SUI FC Basel 1893

ENG Middlesbrough FC

ESP RCD Espanyol

FRA RC Lens*

Third seeds

UKR FC Shakhtar Donetsk

NED SC Heerenveen

UKR FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk

GER Hamburger SV*

SCG FK Crvena Zvezda

ENG WANDERERS

ITA UC Sampdoria

ITA US Citt di Palermo

Fourth seeds

ROU FC Steaua Bucuresti

DEN Brndby IF

SUI Grasshopper-Club

RUS FC Zenit St. Petersburg

BUL PFC Levski Sofia

FRA RC Strasbourg

FRA Stade Rennais FC

BUL PFC CSKA Sofia

Fifth seeds

POR Vitria SC

BUL PFC Litex Lovech

SWE Halmstads BK

NOR Viking FK**

ROU FC Dinamo Bucuresti

ROU AFC Rapid Bucuresti

ISR Maccabi Petach-Tikva FC

NOR Troms IL

*UEFA Intertoto Cup winners

** Fair play winners