Pakhtakor set for CIS Cup defence

The eight-time Uzbekistan champions, who won the competition in 2007 thanks to a 9-8 penalty shootout defeat of Latvian side FK Ventspils, have also been grouped with BATE Borisov from Belarus and Armenian side Banants Yerevan.

Meanwhile, FK Ventspils will provide the opposition for two-time AFC President’s Cup winners Dordoi Dynamo, with the four-time Kyrgyzstan league champions also drawn to play Olimpi Rustavi from Georgia and Serbian side OFC Belgrad.

Regar-TadAZ, six time champions of Tajikistan, take on Aktobe, from former AFC member Kazakhstan, Khazar Lenkoran from Azerbaijan and Lithuanian outfit FBK-Kaunas, while Asia’s fourth representative in the tournament, Ashgabat face hosts Zenit Saint-Petersburg, Sherif Tiraspol (Moldova) and Levadia Tallin (Estonia), who provide the first opposition for the Turkmenistan champions.