BLACKBURN ROVERS have been handed a tough draw in the last 32 of the Uefa Cup as they travel to Germany to face Bayer Leverkusen.

Bayer boss Michael Skibbe, a former assistant of the national team under Rudi Voller, has a side full of world class players and Mark Hughes' men will need to be at their very best when they visit the BayArena in February.

Leverkusen, based in the North Rhine-Westphalia district, near Cologne, currently lie seventh in the Bundesliga but have a rich pedigree in European football down the years.

With the likes of Michael Ballack, Ze Roberto and Lucio in the side, Klaus Toppmoller led Bayer to the Champions League final in 2002 at Hampden Park, where they lost 2-1 to Real Madrid.

That concluded a season dubbed as the "Treble Horror," which saw them lose the German Cup final 4-2 to Schalke 04 and surrender a five-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga as Borussia Dortmund swept to glory.

But they did have success in the Uefa Cup in 1988 when the came back from a 3-0 first leg deficit against Espanyol to lift the trophy on penalties.

Skibbe, who took over from Klaus Augenthaler, has the likes of German international Bernd Schneider and Brazil defender Juan amongst his squad as well as former Leeds star Roque Junior.

And Rovers fans will be able to soak up the atmosphere of the fabulous BayArena.

The stadium was originally known as Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion named after a former chairman of Bayer AG, the club's founders. Its original capacity was 20,000.

But after a 13-year facelift, the new ground was opened in 1998 with an increased capacity of 22,500 and was re-named the BayArena.

In 1999, a hotel attached to the stadium was completed, with some rooms having a view of the pitch.

The stadium complex also includes a high-class restaurant, which also overlooks the pitch and conference facilities.

The city of Leverkusen originally bid to become a venue for the 2006 World Cup, with an expanded BayArena as the site.

Instead, it was agreed that BayArena would be the main training facility for the German national team during the 2006 finals.

However, Jürgen Klinsmann, former national Rovers fans will be able to take in a couple of noteable landmarks in the town to get themselves in the mood.

The Schloss-Morsbroich, a baroque-style moated castle, is to be found in the city as is the Bayer Cross Leverkusen - the largest illuminated advertisement in the world.