[UEL] Favourable draw for Serie A trio

Genoa, Lazio and Roma have been handed favourable ties as they look to reach the inaugural UEFA Europa League group stage following the play-off round draw in Nyon.

Roma, who finished a disappointing sixth in Serie A last season, swept past Belgian side Gent 10-2 on aggregate on Thursday to reach the play-off round where they will face Slovakian outfit Kosice.

City rivals Lazio, winners of the Coppa Italia, have been paired with Elfsborg from Sweden, while Genoa also face Scandinavian opposition in the form of Odense, from Denmark.

The ties are to be played over two legs on 20 and 27 August, with the 38 winning teams reaching the competition's group phase.

Lazio and Roma, who were both seeded, were drawn at home for the first leg but UEFA will have to reverse the home game for one of the clubs as they both share the Stadio Olimpico.

Unseeded in UEFA's new qualifying format, Gian Piero Gasperini's Genoa, who finished fifth in Italy last term and qualified for European competition for the first time since 1992, avoided being paired with the likes of Zenit St Petersburg, Steaua Bucharest, Sparta Prague and Aston Villa.

Elsewhere in the play-off draw, 2009 UEFA Cup winners Shakhtar Donetsk will meet Turkish club Sivasspor.

UEFA Europa League 2009-10
Play-off Round
First leg: Thursday 20 August
PAOK (GRE) v Heerenveen (NED)
Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) v Hearts (SCO)
Werder Bremen (GER) v Aktobe (KAZ)
Everton (ENG) v Sigma Olomouc (CZE)
BATE Borisov (BLR) v Litex Lovech (BUL)
NAC Breda (NED) v Villarreal (ESP)
Lech Poznan (POL) v Club Brugge (BEL)
Fulham (ENG) v Amkar Perm (RUS)
Galatasaray (TUR) v Levadia Tallinn (EST)
Teplice (CZE) v Hapoel Tel-Aviv (ISR)
Metallurh Donetsk (UKR) v Austria Vienna (AUT)
Twente (NED) v Qarabag (AZE)
Kosice (SVK) v Roma (ITA)
Dinamo Moscow (RUS) v CSKA Sofia (BUL)
Genk (BEL) v Lille (FRA)
Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv (ISR) v PSV Eindhoven (NED)
Lazio (ITA) v Elfsborg (SWE)
Trabzonspor (TUR) v Toulouse (FRA)
Partizan Belgrade (SRB) v Zilina (SVK)
Baki (AZE) v Basel (SUI)
Ajax (NED) v Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
Sivasspor (TUR) v Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
Brondby (DEN) v Hertha Berlin (GER)
Athletic Bilbao (ESP) v Tromso (NOR)
Sarajevo (BIH) v Cluj (ROU)
Rapid Vienna (AUT) v Aston Villa (ENG)
Steaua Bucharest (ROU) v St. Patrick's Athletic (IRL)
Maribor (SVN) v Sparta Prague (CZE)
Zenit St. Petersburg (RUS) v Nacional (POR)
Genoa (ITA) v Odense (DEN)
Dinamo Bucharest (ROU) v Slovan Liberec (CZE)
Guingamp (FRA) v Hamburg (GER)
Sion (SUI) v Fenerbahce (TUR)
Sturm Graz (AUT) v Metalist Kharkiv (UKR)
Slavia Prague (CZE) v Crvena Zvezda (SRB)
Benfica (POR) v Vorskla Poltava (UKR)
Vaslui (ROU) v AEK Athens (GRE)
Stabaek (NOR) v Valencia (ESP)
Second leg: Thursday 27 August
Heerenveen v PAOK
Hearts v Dinamo Zagreb
Aktobe v Werder Bremen
Sigma Olomouc v Everton
Litex Lovech v BATE Borisov
Villarreal v NAC Breda
Club Brugge v Lech Poznan
Amkar Perm v Fulham
Levadia Tallinn v Galatasaray
Hapoel Tel-Aviv v Teplice
Austria Vienna v Metallurh Donetsk
Qarabag v Twente
Roma v Kosice
CSKA Sofia v Dinamo Moscow
Lille v Genk
PSV Eindhoven v Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv
Elfsborg v Lazio
Toulouse v Trabzonspor
Zilina v Partizan Belgrade
Basel v Baki
Slovan Bratislava v Ajax
Shakhtar Donetsk v Sivasspor
Hertha Berlin v Brondby
Tromso v Athletic Bilbao
Cluj v Sarajevo
Aston Villa v Rapid Vienna
St. Patrick's Athletic v Steaua Bucharest
Sparta Prague v Maribor
Nacional v Zenit St. Petersburg
Odense v Genoa
Slovan Liberec v Dinamo Bucharest
Hamburg v Guingamp
Fenerbahce v Sion
Metalist Kharkiv v Sturm Graz
Crvena Zvezda v Slavia Prague
Vorskla Poltava v Benfica
AEK Athens v Vaslui
Valencia v Stabaek

Source: UEFA