Dundalk face tough Europa League task after drawing Zenit and AZ

Dundalk face a tough task to progress in the Europa League after being drawn in Group D alongside Zenit Saint Petersburg, AZ Alkmaar and Maccabi Tel-Aviv.

Zenit, the five-time winners of the Russian Premier League, reached the Round of 16 of the Champions League last year after winning five of their six group games.

They endured a disappointed league campaign in 2015-16, however, finishing third, but their Champions League exploits made them the second-highest-seeded club in this season's Europa League.

AZ Alkmaar were the highest-seeded team in Pot Two, are regulars at this stage of the competition, having made the group stages in four of the past six years.

They finished fourth in last year's Eredivisie and were eliminated from the Europa League after finishing last in a group that included Athletic Bilbao, Partizan Belgrade and Augsburg.

Despite finishing second in last year's Israeli Premier League, Maccabi Tel Aviv were ranked ahead of champions Hapoel Beer'Sheva owing to their European pedigree.

Maccabi, like Zenit, reached the group stages of last season's Champions League, though they finished last in a group containing Chelsea, Porto and Dynamo Kyiv.

The first matches in the group stage will take place on September 15^th, with a full schedule to be determined in the coming days.