Atletico, who beat Fulham in last season's final to end a 14-year wait for a major trophy, were drawn alongside Bayer Leverkusen, Rosenborg and Aris Thessaloniki in Group B.

Club president Enrique Cerezo said: "It's not been an easy draw. All the teams will be going out to win. Bayer Leverkusen are a good team, Rosenborg are a regular in European competitions and the Greek of Aris will be a difficult opponent for the support of their fans."

However, Cerezo is optimistic the Rojiblancos can still do well this season after keeping most of their cup-winning squad intact this summer and adding the likes of Filipe Luis, Fran Merida and Diego Godin to their ranks.

"The team has reinforced well and we have high hopes. We are going to fight for all the competitions," Cerezo said.

Atletico sporting director Jesus Garcia Pitarch feels they were handed one of the toughest draws of any of the four Spanish sides competiting in the tournament.

Sevilla, UEFA Cup winners in 2006 and 2007, will face Paris Saint Germain, Borussia Dortmund and Karpaty Lviv in Group J after being knocked out of the Champions League play-offs this week.

Villarreal are in Group D with Club Brugge, Dinamo Zagreb and PAOK, while Getafe meet Stuttgart, Odense and Young Boys in Group H.

"The important thing is to be in the draw. We have a difficult group with tough, competitive teams who have a history of playing in Europe," Garcia Pitarch said.

"They'll be thinking the same about us. The reality is that of the Spanish teams that were in the draw, us and Sevilla have come out with a certain amount of difficulty whilst Getafe have done very well and Villarreal quite well.

"Bayer are a big rival for their potential and although Rosenborg are not at the same level of a few years ago, they compete well and are very well organised, and it's not easy to play them."

Speaking about his side's draw, Sevilla coach Antonio Alvarez said: "Its a strong group which, leaving aside the Ukrainian team, who we don't know well enough, is going to be hard. But Karpaty have knocked out Galatasaray, a big team, so they will have their strengths and they will need to be taken into account.

"I have no objections to the group, we need to be focused, although the other teams will also be worried because they have been drawn against Sevilla."

Villarreal coach Juan Carlos Garrido said of his team's opponents: "It's clear that in a Europa League draw all the teams are of a good level. In our group all the teams are of a medium-high level and the three sides have been very high in their countries and I'm sure they are going to demand the best of us.

"We could have had worse teams and also better, like Manchester City. In the end we have quite a demanding group, but I think we have a good chance if we give 100%."