Fuente: © UEFA (English)
http://www.uefa.com/

UEFA CUP: Holders among last-night hopefuls

/noticias.info/ The UEFA Cup group stage concludes tonight as holders Sevilla FC meet AZ Alkmaar with a crucial first-placed finish at stake while there are winner-takes-all encounters in France and Germany.

Final placings
While several teams are still battling to reach the Round of 32, others have an eye on their final position in their respective sections. Each pool winner earns a tie against one of the third-placed finishers from another group in the Round of 32 draw on Friday, while each runner-up will meet one of the eight third-placed finishers from the UEFA Champions League groups - Werder Bremen, FC Spartak Moskva, FC Girondins de Bordeaux, FC Shakhtar Donetsk, FC Steaua Bucuresti, SL Benfica, PFC CSKA Moskva and AEK Athens FC. uefa.com breaks down the qualifying situation in the four outstanding groups.

Group A
Rangers FC and Maccabi Haifa FC are already through to the next stage. Rangers can guarantee top spot with a draw or better at home to eliminated FK Partizan while even a narrow defeat could suffice. AJ Auxerre will qualify if they avoid defeat against AS Livorno Calcio in France, who have to win to go through. Auxerre will leapfrog Maccabi into second place if they win while a Rangers defeat and an Auxerre victory could give the French side first place.

Group B
Tottenham Hotspur FC will advance as group winners unless they lose against second-placed visitors FC Dinamo 1948 Bucuresti, who have also already qualified. Bayer 04 Leverkusen are bottom of the standings but will deny Beşiktaş JK a ticket to the Round of 32 and progress themselves if they overcome their Turkish opponents in Germany.

Group C
Sevilla and AZ have both already qualified and are battling for pole position as they go head-to-head at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium; the UEFA Cup holders must win to finish top. SC Braga require maximum points at home against Grasshopper-Club to wrestle the section's third qualifying slot from FC Slovan Liberec.

Group D
Parma FC are already confirmed as group winners and welcome CA Osasuna, who have to take at least a point to be sure of progressing. A three-goal margin of victory at home to RC Lens would lift bottom-placed SC Heerenveen above the French team and Odense BK in the standings and might also see them better Osasuna's final tally. A high-scoring two-goal win - 5-3 or more - would allow them to overtake OB but not Lens. notas_de_prensa_archivo