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VILLA PAIRED WITH ICEMEN
Martin O'Neill's men face Icelandic opposition.
Aston Villa have been handed a seemingly straightforward task in the UEFA Cup second qualifying round.
Martin O'Neill's side, who qualified via the Intertoto Cup, will face Icelanders Hafnarfjordur.
The Urvalsdeild outfit beat Luxembourg's Grevenmacher 8-3 in their first qualifying round tie.
The ties are scheduled for August 14 and 28.
O'Neill will not be making the same mistake as John Gregory, who effectively sealed his own fate as Villa boss on their last European campaign seven years ago by fielding a weakened team in the home leg against NK Varteks.
Villa were unable to overturn a 3-2 home deficit away from the Midlands and four months later, Gregory was sacked.
"We are excited just to be in the draw first of all," said O'Neill, whose side defeated Odense in the Intertoto Cup to reach UEFA's secondary competition.
"We had two tough games against Odense and now we are determined to do as well as possible."
Unlike Manchester City, who attracted under 10,000 to Barnsley, over 30,000 were at Villa Park last weekend, proving how much continental combat means to the 1982 European Cup winners.
"The fans showed last week they have an appetite for European football and I am sure they will back us against Hafnarfjardar," said O'Neill.
