Italian barrier for Spurs and Pool in Europe

ToTTenhAm and Liverpool have both been handed tough-looking Italian jobs after being paired with Lazio and Udinese in the europa League group stage.

Spurs – denied a Champions League spot for finishing fourth in the Barclays Premier League thanks to Chelsea’s european Cup triumph – face Lazio, motherwell’s Champions League conquerors Panathinaikos of Greece and Slovenia’s maribor in Group J.

Liverpool’s task is arguably even more difficult. Their reward for edging past hearts in the play-off round is a matchup with Udinese – who finished third in Serie A but lost their Champions League playoff tie – mega-rich Russian outfit Anzhi makhachkala and Swiss side Young Boys in Group A.

Liverpool and Tottenham were both top seeds but were handed much tougher-looking groups than newcastle, who were seeded third ahead of their first european campaign for six years.

The magpies are in Group D along with Bordeaux (France), Club Brugge (Belgium) and maritimo (Portugal).

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers admitted his own side face a tough task, saying: “The groups have been drawn and we have got a difficult group.

“It is another step forward for us. european football is brilliant for this club and we look forward to going further in the competition.”

newcastle boss Alan Pardew was relieved to avoid a trip to eastern europe.

“It’s a great draw in terms of the travelling element, which I was pleased about because they are all pretty accessible,” he said.

“The competition is strong, as you would expect, but it could be worse, so we are pleased with it.”