Man City to face Poles

Manchester City have been drawn to play Polish side Groclin in the second round of the UEFA Cup.

The Premiership club, who booked their place in today’s draw by seeing off Belgian side Lokeren, will play the first leg at the City of Manchester Stadium.

The sides’ first meeting will be on November 6 with the return leg on November 27.

Liverpool, winners of the competition in 2001, face a difficult task after being paired with Romanian side Steaua Bucharest.

Former European Cup winners Steaua secured their place in the draw by seeing off Liverpool’s Premiership rivals Southampton in midweek.

Gerard Houllier’s side came through with victory over Slovenian side Olimpija Ljubljana.

Liverpool, who played in Bucharest against Rapid three years ago, will play in the Romanian capital in the first leg of the tie.

The third English side in the draw, Newcastle, face an away trip to Switzerland to face Christian Gross’ Basle.

The Swiss upset a couple of British sides last season by knocking out both Celtic and Liverpool from the Champions League.

The Magpies can expect a tougher tie than in the first round, when they brushed past NAC Breda 6-0 on aggregate.