Chelsea must head to Israel in Cup

Chelsea were today handed a difficult and potentially controversial trip to Israel when they were drawn to face Hapoel Tel Aviv in the second round of the UEFA Cup.

Chelsea beat Levski Sofia 2-0 in Bulgaria last night for a 5-0 aggregate victory to enter this morning?s UEFA draw in Zurich.

The Stamford Bridge side were seeded so avoided some of the big clubs but have to play in Israel where a fragile ceasefire is presently holding following an agreement between Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat signed on Wednesday.

Before the draw, Chelsea coach Claudio Ranieri had insisted that he did not mind who his club drew.

But although they have avoided some of the big Italian clubs, such as AC Milan, the trip to Israel brings travel problems.

Because they are in Tel Aviv for the first leg on 18 October it means that Chelsea must face a run of four away games in a row in ten days.

Only three days after the first UEFA Cup tie they play Premiership matches at Leeds, followed by away games at West Ham (24 October) and Derby (28 October).

Chelsea assistant manager Gwyn Williams said: ?Playing Hapoel Tel Aviv will be a tough game with a lot of travelling and from what we know, they are a good club and well organised.?

Williams is also sure that the tie will not provide any safety concerns, adding: ?UEFA are sensible and I don?t think they would send us anywhere where there would be a problem.?

Leeds face French side Troyes, conquerors of Newcastle in the InterToto Cup Final which earned them a UEFA Cup place.

Ipswich, who booked their place in the second round with a 2-1 win over Torpedo Moscow yesterday, will play Swedish side Helsingborgs and have home advantage in the first leg.

Glasgow Rangers will be hoping to turn the clock back to a night of European glory 29 years ago when they face Dynamo Moscow.

Dick Advocaat?s men came through a tricky one-off tie with Anzhi Makhachkala in Poland yesterday and their reward for the 1-0 win is a clash with Dynamo ? a repeat of the 1972 Cup Winners? Cup Final whi ch Rangers won 3-2.

The first leg of the two-legged contest will take place at Ibrox on 18 October with the second leg two weeks later in Russia.