Two of Bulgaria's three clubs participating in this season's Uefa Cup were handed difficult opponents in the first round of the tournament, the draw for which was held on August 29 in Monaco.
Last year's league runner-up Levski Sofia, defeated on aggregate by Belarus' Bate Borissov in the third qualifying round of the Champions League, has the best chance of progressing to the group stage of the Uefa Cup after it was drawn against Slovak side MŠK Žilina.
Levski will also benefit from playing the return leg of the fixture, on October 2, at home. The first match in Slovakia will be played on September 18.
Cherno More Varna and Litex Lovech, who made their way into the competition after defeating Israeli sides Maccabi Netanya and Kiryat Shmona, respectively, were not as lucky.
Cherno More will face German side VfB Stuttgart and Litex are pitched against Aston Villa, the English club where Bulgarian midfielder Stilian Petrov plies his trade. Both Bulgarian clubs will play the first legs of their ties at home, further complicating their tasks.
The highlights of the draw include matches between Napoli and Benfica, Borussia Dortmund versus Udinese, while Standard de Ličge who came close to eliminating Liverpool in the Champions League third qualifying round will once again travel to Merseyside to play Everton.
Sevilla, who won the cup twice in the last three years, will play against Austria's Salzburg on their return to the competition, while seven-times European champions AC Milan were drawn against Swiss side Zurich.
