Sun 24th May - Villa Park
Last updated: 6th October 2008
Spurs among the top seeds
Tottenham have been handed a boost after being seeded among the top-rated teams for Tuesday's Uefa Cup draw.
The Premier League basement dwellers have been named in Pot 1 alongside six-times European champions AC Milan, 2006 and 2007 Uefa Cup winners Sevilla, 2004 winners Valencia and 2005 champions CSKA Moscow.
Portuguese titans Benfica, German outfit Schalke - Uefa Cup winners in 1997 - and former Tottenham manager Martin Jol's Hamburg round off the top pool.
Manchester City are in Pot 3 alongside Rosenborg, Udinese, Feyenoord, Braga, Slavia Prague, Galatasaray and Sampdoria, while Portsmouth and Aston Villa are in the fourth pot with Hertha Berlin, Partizan Belgrade, Nancy, Racing Santander, FC Copenhagen and Dinamo Zagreb.
Everton's conquerors Standard Liege, who dropped into the Uefa Cup after losing to Liverpool in the Champions League qualifiers, are in the fifth pot.
Uefa have stated that teams from the same country will not be drawn together into the
same group.
There will be eight groups of five teams, with each team playing two home games and two away games. The top three teams from each group progress to the knockout stage, where they are joined by the eight teams finishing third in the Champions League group phase to make up the last 32.

A look at the best pictures as Michael Owen completes a surprise move to Manchester United.
Pictures from the unveiling of Real Madrid's reported £56 million signing at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Pictures from the Under 21 championship semi-final between England and Sweden in Gothenburg.
Pictures from England's draw with Germany in the last Group B game of the Under 21 Championships.
A look at the best pictures as Michael Owen completes a surprise move to Manchester United.
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Saturday 18th July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| 15:00 | Peterborough vs Aston Villa |
| Tuesday 21st July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| 19:45 | Colchester vs Aston Villa |
| Saturday 25th July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| 21:30 | Aston Villa vs Malaga |
| Wednesday 29th July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| 19:30 | Aston Villa vs Atlante |
| Tuesday 4th August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| 19:45 | Oxford Utd vs Aston Villa |
| Saturday 8th August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| 15:00 | Aston Villa vs Fiorentina |
| Saturday 15th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Aston Villa vs Wigan |
| Saturday 22nd August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Liverpool vs Aston Villa |
| Saturday 29th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Aston Villa vs Fulham |
| Saturday 12th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Birmingham vs Aston Villa |
| Saturday 19th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Aston Villa vs Portsmouth |
| Saturday 26th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Blackburn vs Aston Villa |
| Saturday 3rd October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Aston Villa vs Man City |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Sunday 24th May | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 1 - 0 Newcastle | |
| Saturday 16th May | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Middlesbrough 1 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Saturday 9th May | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Fulham 3 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Monday 4th May | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 1 - 0 Hull | |
| Saturday 25th April | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Bolton 1 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Saturday 18th April | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 1 - 1 West Ham | |
| Sunday 12th April | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 3 - 3 Everton | |
| Sunday 5th April | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man Utd 3 - 2 Aston Villa | |
| Sunday 22nd March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Liverpool 5 - 0 Aston Villa | |
| Sunday 15th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 1 - 2 Tottenham | |
| Wednesday 4th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man City 2 - 0 Aston Villa | |
| Sunday 1st March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 2 - 2 Stoke | |
| Thursday 26th February | |
| Europa League | |
| CSKA Moscow 2 - 0 Aston Villa | |
| Saturday 21st February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 0 - 1 Chelsea | |
| Wednesday 18th February | |
| Europa League | |
| Aston Villa 1 - 1 CSKA Moscow | |
| Sunday 15th February | |
| The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON | |
| Everton 3 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Saturday 7th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Blackburn 0 - 2 Aston Villa | |
| Wednesday 4th February | |
| The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON | |
| Aston Villa 3 - 1 Doncaster | |
| Saturday 31st January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 0 - 0 Wigan | |
| Tuesday 27th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Portsmouth 0 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Aston Villa | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Birmingham City | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Blackburn Rovers | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Bolton Wanderers | 0 | 0 |
FanZone's Craig Cochrane picks over the bones of the 2008/09 season at Villa Park.
Few clubs will need to take stock of their ranks more than Aston Villa this summer. Alex Dunn investigates.
Stiliyan Petrov is hoping Villa build on their success last season by making more progress this term.
Hans Nijland has conceded he expects highly-rated striker Marcus Berg to leave Groningen this summer.
Aston Villa midfielder Barry Bannan is eager to commit his long-term future to the club.
Barca's Alexander Hleb has received offers but is happy at Camp Nou, according to his agent.
Wilfred Bouma is desperate to play for Aston Villa again so he can repay the club's faith in him.