The 2009 UEFA Europa League final is set to be a showdown between Ukraine and Germany.

The first of two derby semifinals will be an all-Ukrainian affair as Shakhtar Donetsk takes on rivals Dynamo Kiev in a match that is set to send partisan tensions soaring in the Eastern European nation.

William Hill is favouring Dynamo Kiev to overcome Shakhtar Donetsk in the contest, with Kiev priced 10/11 to win their home leg of the UEFA Europa League semifinals. Shakthar Donetsk supporters will benefit from great value with their team priced 11/4 to score an away win.

Thursday’s second match pits two German clubs against one another, with German domestic cup semifinalists Werder Bremen up against Hamburg.

There’s excellent value to be had in this match with Hamburg, currently ranked 5th in the Bundesliga, priced 3/1 underdogs to beat a club currently languishing in 10th position in the German league.

William Hill has opened 18 additional UEFA Europa League betting markets for each semifinal, offering football fans the opportunity to bet on goalscorers, the final score and several other aspects of the UEFA Europa League semifinals.

Manchester City produced a dull performance in their dead rubber against PSG in the UEFA Europa League last night, grinding out a 0-0 draw at the Eastlands to maintain their unbeaten record in the tournament.

Premiership achievements in recent weeks, which included a 3-0 thrashing of Arsenal and a draw against Manchester United in the Manchester Derby last weekend, looked to have taken their toll on City, who looked tired and uncoordinated throughout the evening.

Manchester City was offered a number of opportunities on goal, but squandered each of them. Mark Hughes men also had their problems on defence, and were fortunate not to concede a goal to PSG after a number of defensive lapses gave the visitors some great opportunities on goal.

“We have performed better in other games,” City manager Mark Hughes said after the match. “However this is a new experience for us. European games are a different test and a different problem we have to solve. We will be the better for the experience of going up against a good European side like PSG. It is important for our development.”

The result all but ended PSG’s hopes of reaching the knockout rounds of the UEFA Europa League, and the Paris-based club will need to win their final UEFA Europa League match while hoping that FC Schalke and Real Racing Club lose theirs, in order to progress.

Manchester City became the first English club to qualify for the knockout rounds of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night, after a 2-0 victory over FC Schalke saw the club move out of reach of the 4th and 5th placed clubs in Group A.

Benjani and Stephen Ireland scored for City as the club notched up its second victory over a top flight club in the space of a week. The victory will have given Mark Hughes’ men confidence going into this weekend’s Premier League match against Manchester United.

”I am very happy,” Hughes told ESPN after the match. ”This week was a great week. We beat Arsenal comprehensively and we came here knowing it was a very difficult game on paper. But we coped with the game quite easily. We were always in control and never allowed Schalke any real opportunities.”

Hughes singled his strike force out for praise after they put in a brilliant performance despite the absence of the injured Robinho.

”I thought the work of the front three - just as the whole team performance - was outstanding from start to finish,” he said. ”Benjani, Sturridge and Vassell were excellent tonight. They understood how to change positions and understood that when we were out of possession, we had to regain it quickly.”

Portsmouth narrowly lost out on one of the biggest victories in its history yesterday evening after surrendereing a 2-0 lead over AC Milan in the UEFA Europa League to end the match with a disappointing 2 all draw.

Younes Kaboul and Nwankwo Kanu scored for Portsmouth to give their side a unexpected 2-0 lead over the club that has won the Champions League 7 times during its history.

Portsmouth was able to hold onto the lead until 6 minutes from time, when AC Milan’s power on attack finally told as both Ronaldinho and Filipo Inzaghi found the back of the Pompey net.

“At the moment we are struggling to put teams to bed,” Portsmouth manager Tony Adams told Channel Five after the match. “They have some fantastic players, AC Milan, and if you switch it off they can punish you.”

The result of the match saw AC Milan head to the top of Group E with 7 points. Wolfsburg took 2nd place in the group after a win over FC Braga, while Portsmouth ended the evening in 4th place in Group E.

Rapidly improving Tottenham Hotspur can look forward to welcoming summer signing Giovani Dos Santos back to the fold when he returns from injury next month.

The 19 year old Mexican international was drafted from Barcelona during the summer, but had only limited game-time before an ankle sprain put him out of action.

Dos Santos last played for Spurs in their UEFA Europa League defeat to Udinese, and can look forward to returning to a side brimming with confidence after some big wins in the Premiership and UEFA Europa League.

“We all wish Gio a speedy recovery,” Spurs boss Harry Redknapp said after it was revealed that the young striker would not require surgery on his injured ankle. “I have not had the opportunity to work with him yet.”

Tottenham Hotspur will be back in action in the UEFA Europa League on the 27th of November when they take on FC Nijmegen in a crucial Group D tie. A win for Spurs should be enough to secure them a place in the knockout rounds of the UEFA Europa League.

Star striker Robinho was the difference between Manchester City and FC Twente in a night that saw the English club take maximum points from their UEFA Europa League Group A fixture.

Manchester City drew first blood when Shaun Wright-Phillips scored early in the first half. However, indifferent defence soon cost the home side, allowing Twente to draw level with an Eljero Elia strike.

The score stayed level until after the break, with Robinho breaking the deadlock by blasting a goal into the top corner of the Twente net early in the second half. Benjani extended City’s lead 5 minutes later, deflecting a shot off the Twente defence and into the goal.

Twente refused to give up, and the Manchester City defence was penetrated for a second time on 65 minutes when Rob Wielart took advantage of sloppy marking to head home his side’s second goal.

Steve McLaren’s side were unable to score again despite a determined late surge, and left England with nothing to show for their brave display.

“We felt we should have got something from the game. We certainly had chances,”  McClaren said after the match. “But the character of the players was magnificent after we went a goal down so early against City’s front five.”

The result moves Manchester City to second place in Group A with 3 points from one game, while Twente occupy third place with 3 points from their two UEFA Europa League games.

Tottenham Hotspur continued its dramatic renaissance yesterday, beating Dynamo Zagreb 4-0 in the UEFA Europa League.

Despite resting several key players, Tottenham Hotspur dominated the encounter, with a Darren Brent hat-trick responsible for providing the club with its biggest victory margin of the season. Spurs’ 4th goal came courtesy of the boot of Tom Huddlestone.

“It was important we got a win under our belt in this competition and to play the way we did and get the goals was encouraging,” Spurs manager Harry Redknapp said after the match. “It has been a terrific 10 days… so let’s hope we can keep that going for a while.”

Brent’s performance continued an impressive turnaround in personal form that began when Redknapp took the reins at Spurs as fortnight ago. The Spurs striker has netted 9 times in the past two weeks, justifying his £17 million transfer from Charlton Athletic.

“Darren’s finishing has been excellent. Nine goals is a terrific return and let’s hope he can continue on this fantastic run of scoring,” Redknapp said. “This is the first time I’ve worked with him, he has a good attitude and works hard at his game.”

Yesterday’s result leaves Tottenham Hotspur second in Group D with 3 points from 2 games.

Harry Redknapp has made the difficult decision to place Tottenham Hotspur’s Premier League relegation battle ahead of the club’s UEFA Europa League campaign.

Redknapp will rest Ledley King, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Vedran Corluka and Jamie O’Hara for tonight’s UEFA Europa League match against Dinamo Zagreb. Jermaine Jenas is expected to sit out the game with an injury.

The Tottenham Hotspur manager’s decision to place the UEFA Europa League on the back-burner is the product of an increasingly fierce battle between clubs in the Premier League’s relegation zone to climb to safety on the league table.

“I would love to get to a cup final again, but getting Tottenham up the league to a respectable position is key as well,” Redknapp told the Associated Press. “We’ve got a lot on our plate. It’s so tight, there are 14 teams in a position where they will be looking over their shoulder worried at what is coming.”

“I’ve never seen a tighter league and it may take more points than normal to stay up.”

While established Spurs players will be rested for tonight’s match, fans can look forward to seeing one of England’s brightest young prospects, John Bostock, have an opportunity to make an impression on the European stage.