Gartside: Bayern clash could be the thing that kick-starts our season

Sammy Lee's struggling Trotters will be massive underdogs for the clash at the Allianz Arena on November 8 as the Bavarians are currently racing away from their rivals in the Bundesliga.

Fired by the prolific Italy striker Luca Toni, Bayern have romped five points clear at the summit and their form is in stark contrast to that endured by Bolton in the Barclays Premier League.

Defeat to Chelsea on Sunday kept the Lancashire club rooted in 19th with just a solitary league win all season, and their UEFA Cup first-round victory over Rabotnicki has been one of few highlights since manager Sammy Lee succeeded Sam Allardyce at the Reebok Stadium.

But chairman Phil Gartside believes a glamorous trip to Munich might be just what they need to prompt a revival.

"Being greedy you want to play Bayern Munich at home, because you get a better TV deal from broadcasters," he told Sky Sports News.

"When you're playing a second-rate team from Macedonia (Rabotnicki) and 20,000 people turn up it probably spells out that people are interested.

"We all said Bayern Munich in the group would be fantastic, so we're all very happy."

Gartside added: "We've had a tough start.

"You're looking for signs and things which might start your season off and this could be a great fillip for everybody."

Bolton precede their match against Bayern with an opening home clash against Braga of Portugal, while they will also take on Greek side Aris Thessaloniki and Red Star Belgrade.

Tottenham, who reached last season's quarter-finals before losing out to Sevilla, face more Spanish opposition in the form of Getafe.

They are currently languishing second bottom of La Liga after enduring an even worse start than Spurs, and will visit White Hart Lane on matchday one.

Intriguingly, the Londoners will also face Anderlecht, the Belgian side they defeated on penalties in the 1984 UEFA Cup final, with minnows AaB Aalborg and Hapoel Tel Aviv providing the other opposition in what looks a favourable draw for under-fire manager Martin Jol.

Everton appear to have no glamour ties to look forward to in Group A - but they arguably have the toughest overall task of the English clubs.

David Moyes' side open against Larissa, Blackburn's first-round conquerors, at Goodison Park on October 25, before a trip to face Bundesliga strugglers Nurnberg two weeks later.

Russian nouveau riches Zenit St Petersburg are next up on Merseyside before they finish with a daunting trip to AZ Alkmaar, quarter-finalists last year.

Scottish club Aberdeen were happy just to make the group stage after their stunning win over Ukrainians Dnipro, and matters will not get any easier from here.

A trip to Greek giants Panathinaikos begins their campaign before they host Lokomotiv Moscow.

They then travel to the Spanish capital to face Atletico Madrid and close out by hosting FC Copenhagen at Pittodrie.