Liverpool return to Bucharest

Former European champions Liverpool and Steaua Bucharest will meet next month in the UEFA Cup second round following yesterday…

Former European champions Liverpool and Steaua Bucharest will meet next month in the UEFA Cup second round following yesterday's draw.

Romania's Steaua, European champions in 1986, will be looking to complete a double over English sides after knocking out Southampton in the first round 2-1 on aggregate.

Liverpool, four-time European champions and UEFA Cup winners two years ago, breezed into the second round with a 4-1 aggregate victory over Olimpija Ljubliana of Slovenia.

Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry said: "Steaua were second in the Roma-nian league last year and Southampton obviously know a lot about them. It won't be an easy one, but we know Bucharest - we were there during our 2001 run when we won the UEFA Cup so we know the hotels, we know the city and are looking forward to it."

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Newcastle United will face Basel. The Swiss club's president Werner Edelmann said: "We are used to playing British sides and last year we had Celtic, Liverpool and Manchester United, while our manager Christian Gross also worked with Tottenham. His experience will help whatever and we are looking forward to it."

Manchester City, whose finest moment in Europe came when they beat Polish side Gornik Zabrze to win the old European Cup Winners' Cup in 1970, were drawn to play Poles Groclin Grodzisk.

Dutch side Feyenoord, who won the UEFA Cup in 2002, face Teplice of the Czech Republic, who beat Kaiserslautern of Germany 3-1 in the first round.

Barcelona, who crushed Puchov of Slovakia 9-1 on aggregate in the previous round, will play Panionios with the first leg now taking place in Greece after the Spaniards agreed to switch the ties, subject to UEFA approval.

The first legs take place on November 6th with the returns on November 27th.

UEFA CUP: Second round draw: Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) v Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine), Borussia Dortmund (Germany) v Sochaux (France), Manchester City (England) v Groclin Grodzisk (Poland), Barcelona (Spain) v Panionios (Greece), Benfica (Portugal) v Molde (Norway), Slavia Prague (Czech Republic) v Levski Sofia (Bulgaria), Rosenborg Trondheim (Norway) v Red Star Belgrade (Serbia and Montenegro), Valencia (Spain) v Maccabi Haifa (Israel), Spartak Moscow (Russia) v Dinamo Bucharest (Romania), Gaziantepspor (Turkey) v RC Lens (France), Schalke 04 (Germany) v Brondby (Denmark), Perugia (Italy) v Aris Salonika (Greece), Utrecht (Netherlands) v AJ Auxerre (France), Steua Bucharest (Romania) v Liverpool (England), Valerenga (Norway) v Wisla Krakow (Poland), PAOK Salonika (Greece) v Debrecen (Hungary), FC Copenhagen (Denmark) v Real Mallorca (Spain), Parma (Italy) v Salzburg (Austria), Basel (Switzerland) v Newcastle United (England), AS Roma (Italy) v Hajduk Split (Croatia), Genclerbirligi (Turkey) v Sporting Lisbon (Portugal), Villarreal (Spain) v Torpedo Moscow (Russia), Feyenoord (Netherlands) v Teplice (Czech Republic), Girondins Bordeaux (France) v Hearts (Scotland). Note: First-named team at home in first leg.