Europa League Draw Reaction

Could this man take Liverpool to Europa League glory?

Everton, Spurs, Liverpool and Celtic all found out who they would face in the Europa League yesterday. Alex Johnson reviews the draw.

The draw for the Last 32 of the Europa League took place on Monday with four British clubs involved.

Europe's secondary club competition received a boost this year with the winners earning a guaranteed place in next season's Champions League - a real carrot for the 32 sides going into knockout battle in the new year.

With Everton, Spurs, Liverpool and Celtic all involved, we analyse the draw as the journey to the 2015 Europa League Final in Warsaw on Wednesday May 27 gets serious.

Roberto Martinez guided the Toffees to the top of their qualifying group and their reward is tie against Swiss outfit Young Boys.

Having won all three group games in Berne scoring nine times without conceding, Uli Forte's team will provide a stern examination for Everton. They finished second to Serie A side Napoli and defeated the Italians 2-0 at home.

The Toffees failed to master the art of juggling Europa League football with domestic action during the group phase and it will be interesting to see how Martinez attempts to solve that problem in 2015.

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Merseyside rivals Liverpool were handed a trip to Turkey to face Besiktas.

The tie will bring striker Demba Ba back to Anfield for the first time since his infamous goal for Chelsea put a huge dent in Brendan Rodgers' title dreams last April.

The Turkish side's victory over Spurs amid failing floodlights has been rewarded with another tilt at Premier League opposition.

Liverpool will hope to emulate Chelsea's feat in 2012/13 in dropping out of the Champions League before going on to Europa League glory.

The former Newcastle and Chelsea striker Ba is already relishing a return to England.

"Liverpool are having some tough times now. They couldn't get the results they desired and things are not going well for them," he said following the draw.

There will be reminiscing aplenty for Celtic fans after they were paired with Inter Milan.

The sides famously clashed in Lisbon in 1967 as the Glasgow club became the first British side to win the European Cup.

Ronny Deila's side will be underdogs but with Inter currently enduring a poor domestic campaign and a full house at Celtic Park there is every chance the Scottish champions could take a lead to the San Siro for the second leg.

The Celtic boss insists his team must not fear their opponents.

"They have been struggling a bit for the last year or two and aren't the team they were in 2010 when they won the Champions League," the Norwegian said. "But they are a good team and it's going to be tough. Everything is possible, however, and we have everything to play for."

Tottenham will also be in Italy after they were paired with Fiorentina.

After a slow start, Vincenzo Montella has got his team hitting form and they were much too strong in a weak qualification group, winning four of their first five games to take top stop before fielding a weakened side in a dead rubber game against Dinamo Minsk which they lost 2-1.

Montella believes Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham are better than what their early-season league form has suggested.

"They are tricky opponents and at the moment their position in the Premier League does not reflect the true quality of this skilful team," the Fiorentina boss said.

The first legs will be crucial for Liverpool, Celtic and Tottenham as they play at home having been unseeded in the draw while Everton do at least have the comfort of a second leg at Goodison Park to look forward to.

So that's the British contingent accounted for but what of the remaining 24 teams.

UEFA have to be commended for their attempts to breathe new life into the Europa League.

As well as offering the winners entry in the Champions League, domestic leagues also have the added boost of knowing that if cup winners (as was the case of Arsenal last season) have already secured European football via their league position, their place will go to the highest place league team as opposed to beaten cup finalists (Hull City would have given way to Man United for this season).

The recent past would suggest La Liga sides are to be feared in this competition. Spain has produced six of the last eleven winners, including defending champions Sevilla - who have lifted the trophy three times in nine years.

Unai Emery's team will have to be at their best to account for Bundesliga outfit Borussia Monchengladbach.

Sevilla are one of three remaining Spanish sides in the competition with Athletic Bilbao having dropped down from the Champions League to join Villarreal.

The Yellow Submarine showed their teeth on Sunday by ending the long unbeaten record of champions Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon. Villarreal take on a Red Bull Salzburg side that topped Group D ahead of Celtic after scoring 21 times in their six games - comfortably making them the competitions top scorers.

Bilbao, meanwhile, have a Spain versus Italy clash to look forward to when they meet Serie A strugglers Torino.

After falling at the final hurdle to Man City in the Champions League, Roma will be fancied to go a long way in this competition.

Surprisingly, no Serie A side has even graced the final of this competition since Parma defeated Marseille in 1999 - a year after Inter had defeated Lazio in an all-Italian final in Paris.

Roma have failed to lift either of European football's major prizes, losing their one European Cup final appearance to Liverpool on home soil and giving best to Inter Milan in the 1991 UEFA Cup.

At 38, could skipper Francesco Totti lead his team to a famous triumph and go out on a high?

Legia Warsaw will certainly not lack for motivation with the final set to be played on home soil in May.

The Poles won five of their six group games and should be still smarting from their summer misfortune when a clerical error prevented them from advancing into the Champions League after a comfortable victory over Celtic.

Frank de Boer's Ajax now stand between Legia and a place in the last 16 and the Dutchman was pleased with his lot after the draw.

"The draw could have been much worse. That does not mean I underestimate Legia, but just look at the other strong teams we could have drawn," was de Boer's verdict.

Of the remaining sides to parachute down from the Champions League, Anderlecht face Dynamo Moscow while Sporting Lisbon meet Wolfsburg.

Olympiacos must travel to the Ukraine to face Dnipro and Andre Villas-Boas will lead his Zenit St Petersburg team against PSV Eindhoven in another interesting tie.

The former Spurs boss knows he faces a real task to get his players match sharp on the back of the long winter break in Russia.

"Since the PSV first leg will be our first competitive one in 2015, only by doing our job perfectly will we be able to produce the same strength that we demonstrated over the course of the season," AVB declared.

Rafael Benitez's Napoli face a tricky visit to Turkish side Trabzonspor while the draw is completed by the tussles involving Aalborg and Club Brugge and Ligue One outfit Guingamp against Dynamo Kiev.