Sevilla will face Polish side Slask Wroclaw in the Europa League play-off round as they attempt to make another push for silverware.

West Ham have signed teenage goalkeeper Raphael Spiegel from Swiss side Grasshoppers for an undisclosed fee, the newly-promoted Barclays Premier League side have announced.

ASTON VILLA caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald hailed the impact of his young guns on a night when they kept their Europa League hopes alive.

HARRY REDKNAPP was yesterday taking nothing for granted after Tottenham were handed the easiest possible route to the Champions League proper.

Premier League side Tottenham have been given a kind draw in the play-offs for the Champions League.

LIVERPOOL midfielder Joe Cole is looking forward to the challenge of playing for his new club, insisting his move to Merseyside was decided purely on football terms.

Liverpool have confirmed they are in talks with Olympiacos over the sale of winger Albert Riera.

Six current and three former players of a Swiss soccer club have been charged with having sex with an under-age girl.

Former Ajax player Piet Hamberg will take over as academy technical manager at Liverpool after the departure of Steve Heighway.

Blackburn have signed Swiss international left-back Bruno Berner from FC Basle.

Newcastle were handed a daunting task in the UEFA Cup draw in Nyon, Switzerland.

West Ham face a trip to Sicily with a two-legged tie against Palermo in the UEFA Cup first round.

Derry City will face Scottish First Division outfit Gretna in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup while Drogheda United must face Start of Norway.

Arsenal duo Philippe Senderos and Johan Djourou have been named in Switzerland’s World Cup squad.

Middlesbrough boss Steve McClaren was relieved to avoid the “big guns” after the UEFA Cup draw opened up a route to the final.

Middlesbrough 2 Liteks Lovetch 0

Middlesbrough 2 Litex Lovech 0

Middlesbrough striker Mark Viduka is backing his side to head into the knockout stage of the UEFA Cup as Group D winners after taking the pressure off themselves with a battling draw in Holland.

Middlesbrough grabbed the point they needed to ensure their place in the knockout stages of this season’s UEFA Cup with a goalless draw against previously free-scoring AZ Alkmaar in Holland.

UEFA have confirmed Middlesbrough defender Abel Xavier’s B sample proved positive after his failed drugs test in September.

Middlesbrough 3 Dnipro 0

Middlesbrough defender Stuart Parnaby has recovered from a groin injury and returns to the squad for tomorrow’s Carling Cup third round tie at Everton.

Middlesbrough striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink could be a doubt for Sunday’s Barclays Premiership trip to West Ham after turning an ankle late in the 1-0 UEFA Cup win over Grasshoppers in Zurich.

Besiktas 1 Bolton 1

Grasshoppers 0 Middlesbrough 1

Grasshoppers 0 Middlesbrough 1

Middlesbrough headed for Zurich and their UEFA Cup clash with Grasshoppers tomorrow night without suspended defender Abel Xavier as he continued his fight to clear his name.

A DETERMINED Switzerland will try to prevent France completing their first successful World Cup qualifying campaign in 20 years on Saturday.

MIDDLESBROUGH will face last season’s UEFA Cup semi-finalists AZ Alkmaar in Group D of this season’s competition.

AZ Alkmaar coach Louis van Gaal has identified Ukraine side Dnipro – rather than Middlesbrough – as his club’s biggest danger in the UEFA Cup group stage.

The teams taking part in the group stages of the UEFA Cup have been grouped as follows:

CORK CITY boss Damien Richardson is very positive about his team’s chances of progressing further in this year’s UEFA Cup, admitting that if his side play to their potential, they could extend their european ambitions into September.

Cork City will face a visit to Swedish side Djurgardens in the Second Qualifying Round of the UEFA Cup.

Inter Milan will today find out just how costly their abandoned Champions League quarter-final against AC Milan at the San Siro will prove to be.

THE organisers of Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland have dropped plans to use a new football stadium in Zurich after a long-running battle with environmentalists in the Swiss city.

Switzerland U21 1 Rep of Ireland U21 0

Switzerland U21 1 Rep of Ireland U21 0

Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez is to give Roy Carroll the chance to prove to Manchester United he is still a top-class goalkeeper.

Michael Hughes is adamant Northern Ireland should not be written off ahead of their latest World Cup qualifying campaign.

FULHAM yesterday signed Senegal international Papa Bouba Diop from French club Lens on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee.

Rangers manager Alex McLeish wants to have another look at Polish trialist Marcin Zajac.

SWITZERLAND coach Koebi Kuhn has left injured captain Joerg Stiel out of his 19-man squad to face Russia in next week’s critical Group 10 qualifier.

The draw for The UEFA Cup First Round is as follows: