• Tottenham drawn against Anzhi Makhachkala
• Swansea go to Krasnodar, Wigan to Kazan
Lengthy night flights home through the early hours of Friday morning, complicated visa applications and extreme temperatures are merely three of the challenges for teams visiting Russia.
All three English Europa League representatives face trips to Russian clubs following the draw for the group stage in Monaco on Friday. While Tottenham Hotspur find themselves in the same group as Anzhi Makhachkala, the League Cup holders, Swansea City, face Kuban Krasnodar – known as "The Toads" due to their distinctive yellow and green kit – and the FA Cup winners, Wigan Athletic, take on Rubin Kazan.
After narrowly missing out on a Champions League place last spring Spurs also find themselves en route to Sheriff Tiraspol in Moldova and Norway's Tromso – 200 miles north of the Arctic circle where winter days are so short that the sun barely shines.
It makes for a logistically challenging group which will oblige André Villas-Boas's expensively assembled squad to travel roughly 8,500 miles in total as they juggle Thursday evening European assignments with a potential Premier League title challenge.
Swansea may be able to store up a little vitamin D when they visit Valencia but their opponents represent a significant challenge over two potentially intriguing games with a Welsh side containing seven Spanish players in their squad and whose manager, Michael Laudrup, was previously in charge of La Liga's Getafe and Mallorca and played for both Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Alun Cowie, Swansea's general manager, was thrilled with a draw also featuring two games with St Gallen of Switzerland but issued a reminder that the Premier League remains Laudrup's priority. "From a football point of view Valencia is the team that stood out and for our Spanish contingent they are going to be two great games," said Cowie.
"We have Pablo Hernández, formerly of Valencia who will be going home, and six other boys who have played at the very highest level of La Liga and we are going to need that experience.
"But we're in the Europa League to play clubs like Valencia; they are the No1 team in the competition according to the coefficient, so it's fantastic for us. We have a great squad with virtually two players for every position but we can't take our eye off the ball in the Premier League."
Swansea will meet a face once familiar in domestic circles in southern Russia when they make the journey to Krasnodar, 92 miles north of the Black Sea. The striker leading the Toads' attack is Djibril Cissé, once of Liverpool and Sunderland.
"We know we can't underestimate St Gallen but I can't say I know a lot about Kuban Krasnodar," said Cowie. "But we'll do our research. The whole competition is a journey into the unknown for us and going to Krasnodar certainly will be. Logistically it's going to be a tough trip."
Flying the flag for the Championship, Owen Coyle's Wigan face Maribor of Slovenia and Belgium's Zulte Waregem as well as Rubin Kazan in an inaugural European adventure which takes them to the Republic of Tatarstan in eastern Russia.
Jonathan Jackson, Wigan's chief executive, feels his club should approach this odyssey with optimism and excitement. "Playing in Europe is about experiencing new places and going to new clubs and it's something we are really looking forward to," he said. "It's a group where we can certainly compete and we won't take anyone lightly but we have every chance."
Coyle seemed slightly more downbeat about facing Russian opponents who recorded a 3-2 home win over the eventual Europa League winners, Chelsea, in April. "Logistically Rubin Kazan were the longest trip possible," said Wigan's manager. "You craved a glamour tie against Sevilla or Valencia but we've got some tough games. We're looking forward to them, though."
The good news for Villas-Boas and his Spurs players – quarter-finalists last season – is that they are unlikely to have to travel to Makhachkala in Dagestan, home to both Islamic insurgents and the formerly lavish spending Anzhi.
In recent weeks Guus Hiddink's former team have sold several of their once prized collection of highly priced stars including the new Chelsea acquisitions Willian – diverted from a move to White Hart Lane at the 11th hour – and Samuel Eto'o as part of a drastic cost-cutting exercise.
Trouble with armed dissidents in Dagestan means Anzhi's European home games were played in Moscow rather than at their stadium on the Caspian Sea last season. Last spring, while still coached by Hiddink, they were narrowly eliminated 1-0 on aggregate by Newcastle United in the group stages.
Villas-Boas, who is more enthusiastic about the Europa League than many of his managerial peers, should fancy his team's chances against a much depleted side now coached by Gadzhi Gadzhiyev who assumed control after René Meulensteen's 16-day spell in charge in the wake of Hiddink's departure.
via Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com http://feeds.theguardian.com/c/34708/f/663845/s/309ab8f7/sc/12/l/0L0Stheguardian0N0Cfootball0C20A130Caug0C30A0Ceuropa0Eleague0Eswansea0Etottenham0Ewigan0Erussia/story01.htm
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