Europa League draw: AC Milan await Premier League duo, Celtic land testing League Phase schedule

Sunderland and Bournemouth have been handed glamour showdowns with AC Milan in the Europa League.

The draw for the League Phase on Friday promised to throw up some new experiences for the Black Cats, Cherries and Crystal Palace, all of whom are playing in the competition for the first time.

Fans of those three clubs would have been hoping for games against the likes of Milan, Juventus and Bayer Leverkusen.

Crystal Palace missed out on that trio, with a home encounter versus Real Sociedad and a trip to Lyon the standout matches on their schedule.

However, Sunderland can look forward to a trip to San Siro to face Milan, while Bournemouth will welcome Ruben Amorim's side to the Vitality Stadium.

Although Regis Le Bris's Sunderland are missing other notable games, they will be delighted with a draw that gives them a real opportunity of finishing in the top eight.

As well as home matches against the likes of AZ Alkmaar, Dinamo Zagreb and Levski Sofia, the North-East outfit will also travel to second-tier Portuguese side Torreense.

Meanwhile, Bournemouth fans will be relishing visits to La Liga duo Real Sociedad and Celta Vigo as part of their schedule.

Palace have also been handed a tough list of fixtures, with their four away contests being Lyon, Red Bull Salzburg, Jagiellona and Besiktas.

Celtic face battle to reach Europa League knockout stages

Still reeling from the capitulation against LASK Linz in the Champions League playoff round, Celtic have been provided with a brutal Europa League draw.

A home fixture with Marseille and trip to Benfica came from pot one, while there are also games against Union SG, Celta Vigo and Besiktas on their schedule.

Sunderland, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Celtic Europa League fixtures in full

Sunderland: AZ Alkmaar (home), AC Milan (away), GNK Dinamo (home), Anderlecht (away), Jagiellonia (home), Lech Poznan (away), Levski Sofia (home), Torreense (away)

Bournemouth: AC Milan (home), Real Sociedad (away), Viktoria Plzen (home), Sparta Praha (away), Sturm Graz (home), Celta Vigo (away), Hapoel Be'er Sheva (home), Lillestrom (away)

Crystal Palace: Real Sociedad (home), Lyon (away), Sparta Praha (home), Salzburg (away), Lech Poznan (home), Jagiellonia (away), Hoffenheim (home), Besiktas (away).

Celtic: Marseille (home), Benfica (away), Ferencvaros (home), Union SG (away), Celta Vigo (home), Omonia (away), Bestikas (home), Torreense (away)