First round reaches crunch stage

Hot on the heels of the UEFA Champions League Matchday Three excitement comes the decisive games in the UEFA Cup first round tonight.

Across the spectrum
There are 45 second-leg matches to be completed with teams from across the spectrum of European football - from Anorthosis Famagusta FC to Zalaegerszegi TE - taking part. Tonight's winners will join Hertha BSC Berlin, KS Amica Wronki and FK Austria Wien who are safely in the second round after victories on Tuesday.

Three 6-0 winners
They should be joined by clubs such as FC Porto, who won their first leg 6-0 at home to KP Polonia Warszawa, NK Dinamo Zagreb, also 6-0 home winners against Zalaegerszegi, Celtic FC, who beat FK Suduva 8-1, and FC Girondins de Bordeaux - the third club to win 6-0 - who thrashed ŠKM Púchov.

Israeli in clubs in charge
Hapoel Tel-Aviv, the Israeli club who caused a few surprises in last season's competition by beating Chelsea FC and Parma AC, should also safely make the second round after beating FC Kärnten 4-0 in Austria in the first leg. However, there are a couple of prestigious clubs who have their work cut out tonight. Rangers FC, who will have enviously noted Celtic's first-leg scoreline, have a 2-0 defecit to overcome after losing to FK Viktoria Zizkov and Portugal's Boavista FC who lost 1-0 to Hapoel's neighbours Maccabi Tel-Aviv a fortnight ago.

Former winners
Among the former UEFA Cup winners in action tonight Italian club Parma are at home to Russia's PFC CSKA Moskva after a 1-1 draw in the first leg. RSC Anderlecht, the 1983 winners, have to turn round a 1-0 deficit when they travel to Stabæk IF of Norway and England's Ipswich Town FC, go to Yugoslavia after being held 1-1 at Portman Road by FK Sartid.