Hamburg  - Some familiar names should be in the glass bowls for Friday's Europa League group stage draw after last week's first leg matches produces no real surprises.

After UEFA Cup title-holders Shakhtar Donetsk made sure of their advance with a comfortable win over Turkey's Sivasspor on Tuesday, losing finalists Werder Bremen should be one of the teams to join them.

Among those also looking comfortable are northern German neighbours SV Hamburg, the Spanish duo Valencia and Villareal, Italians Lazio, Ajax Amsterdam and Premier League side Everton.

But there's still a lot of work to do for fellow English side Aston Villa who have to make up for a 1-0 defeat to Rapid Vienna when they take on the Austrians at Villa Park on Thursday.

Villa conceded a goal after just 16 seconds in Vienna but manager Martin O'Neill was pleased enough with the team's performance and has been further buoyed by a 3-1 win at Liverpool on Monday.

"The timing of the (Rapid) goal was very disappointing but we have to fight back. We have a big game to look forward to a Villa Park now and we have to go and win it, which we are capable of doing," he said.

Bundesliga outfit Hertha Berlin must also be at their best to repair a 2-1 loss to Brondby when the Danes visit the Olympic Stadium.

Hertha, who have not begun the season well, are hoping the extra finance from lucrative group-stage participation will help them in their search for a new striker.

"The first-leg score is an extremely dangerous one. We will have to defend better and take our chances better than we have been, " Hertha's Swiss coach Lucien Favre said.

The 2008 UEFA Cup winners Zenit St Petersburg are another side battling to stay in the frame after going down to Portuguese outfit Nacional 4-3 in last week's first leg.

AS Roma shared six goals at Kosice but should be favoured to go through in the home leg against the Slovakian side.

City rivals Lazio are 3-0 up for the trip to Elfsborg in Sweden, while Genoa hold a 3-1 lead when they visit Danish side Odense.

Bremen were involved in a curious nine-goal affair with outsiders Aktobe last week, but their 6-3 win should be enough to see them through despite the long trip to Kazakhstan.

The Germans are without striker Hugo Almeida (foot injury) and defender Sebastian Proedl (knee) as coach Thomas Schaaf calls for a tighter defensive performnace.

"Every game brings its own dangers and I hope I see my team play better in the second leg," he said on the club's official website.

"The way in which we conceded the goals leaves room for improvement."

For Spaniards Valencia, 3-0 up against Norwegians Stabaek, and Villareal, 3-1 ahead against Dutch side NAC Breda, advancement should be a formality at home, but Athletic Bilbao have a more tricky encounter when they travel to Norway's Tromso only 3-2 ahead.

Everton, 4-0 up over Czech side Sigma Olomouc, and Fulham, 3-1 ahead against the Russians Amkar Perma, will fancy their chances on the road for the second leg ties, while Ajax defend a 5-0 advantage at Slovan Bratislava.

SV Hamburg, semi-finalists last season, hold a 5-1 lead for the visit of French cup holders Guinkamp, while 2000 UEFA Cup winners Galatasaray are 5-0 ahead for the trip to Estonia's Levadia.

The winners of the 38 play-off-round matches will be joined by the 10 losing teams from the Champions League play-off round to make up the 48 clubs in the group stage which which begins on September 17. (dpa)