Premiership trio poised for glory

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All three English sides can guarantee themselves a place in the UEFA Cup knockout phase with wins on Thursday in the third set of group stage fixtures. English trio Having won their opening two games, Newcastle United FC, Blackburn Rovers FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC would lay claim to three of the last-32 slots should they win their games against RC Celta de Vigo, Feyenoord and Bayer 04 Leverkusen respectively. Emotional ties Blackburn's Australian midfielder Brett Emerton faces a trip down memory lane as he returns to his old club Feyenoord, with whom he won the 2001/02 UEFA Cup. Tottenham, meanwhile, will be taking Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov back to the BayArena, where he emerged as a major European talent. Rangers relief Manager Paul Le Guen has been beset by problems in the Scottish Premier League since taking charge of Rangers FC in the summer, but the UEFA Cup has proved an oasis of calm for the Frenchman. Should Rangers complete a run of three straight wins at AJ Auxerre, they would be guaranteed a knockout phase place. Panathinaikos resting The only other side to have won more than once so far are Greek giants Panathinaikos FC, but they will not play again until Matchday 4. However, a win in either of their remaining games - at home against AFC Rapid Bucuresti and away at Paris Saint-Germain FC - would seal their progress too. PSG memories In other notable Matchday 3 ties, PSG will look to exorcise the ghosts of a humiliating 1998/99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup defeat against Maccabi Haifa FC as they play host to their Israeli rivals Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC. This will be the second time in this season's group stage that French and Israeli sides have met, with Maccabi beating Auxerre 3-1 in Israel in Matchday 1. Sons shining Meanwhile, the sons of two famous coaches will look to prove their managerial credentials as Rapid meet FK Mladá Boleslav. Rapid are led by Razvan Lucescu, son of FC Shakhtar Donetsk coach Mircea Lucescu, while Mladá Boleslav coach Dušan Uhrin's father - also called Dušan Uhrin - led the Czech Republic to a silver-medal finish at UEFA EURO '96™. Two defeats As things stand, Wisla Kraków and Besiktas JK are the only sides to have lost both of their games to date, but neither will be in action on Matchday 3. Related Items * Sparta * Ajax * Rapid Bucuresti * Auxerre * Livorno * Nancy * AZ * Leverkusen * Besiktas * Blackburn * Osasuna * Club Brugge * Eintracht * Basel * Dinamo Bucuresti * Liberec * Fenerbahçe * Feyenoord * Austria * Mladá Boleslav * Partizan * Grasshoppers * H. Tel-Aviv * M. Haifa * Newcastle * OB * Panathinaikos * PSG * Parma * Rangers * Celta * Lens * Sevilla * Tottenham * Wisla * Palermo * Zulte Waregem * Heerenveen * Braga * Espanyol