Valletta, Balzan await UEFA draws
Champions Valletta and runners-up Balzan along with Gzira United and Birkirkara await the draws of the first and second qualifying rounds of both the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League which will be held in Nyon on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.
Valletta enter the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League while Balzan enter the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League. Gzira United and Birkirkara will also be in the draw of the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round but to play in this stage they need to win their Preliminary Round ties.
UEFA Champions League First Qualifying Round
Thirty-two teams are taking part in the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round draw. Teams were divided into three groups (two of ten teams and one of 12 teams). Within the three groups, teams are divided equally into seeded teams and unseeded teams.
Valletta are unseeded in Group 3 and therefore their possible opponents are: Celtic (SCO), Astana (KAZ), Crvena zvezda (SRB), Hapoel Beer-Sheva (ISR), Kukës (ALB), Zrinjski (BIH).
UEFA Champions League First qualifying round draw (matches 10/11 & 17/18 July)
Seeded: APOEL (CYP), Qarabağ (AZE), Sheriff (MDA), The New Saints (WAL), Videoton (HUN)
Unseeded: Shkëndija (MKD), F91 Dudelange (LUX), Olimpija Ljubljana (SVN), Sūduva (LTU), Torpedo Kutaisi (GEO)
Seeded: Ludogorets Razgrad (BUL), Legia Warszawa (POL), Malmö (SWE), Rosenborg (NOR), HJK Helsinki (FIN)
Unseeded: Víkingur (FRO), Crusaders (NIR), Winners of the preliminary round, Cork City (IRL), Valur Reykjavík (ISL)
Seeded: Celtic (SCO), Astana (KAZ), Crvena zvezda (SRB), Hapoel Beer-Sheva (ISR), Kukës (ALB), Zrinjski (BIH)
Unseeded: Spartak Trnava (SVK), Valletta (MLT), Alashkert (ARM), Sutjeska (MNE), Spartaks Jūrmala (LVA), Flora Tallinn (EST)
The winners move on to the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round while the losers would move to the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round.
UEFA Champions League Second Qualifying Round
The teams will be separated into two pots of ten according to their coefficient (the winners of the first qualifying round ties take the coefficients of the seeded club in those ties), with the highest-ranked sides seeded.
The teams beaten in this round transfer to the champions path of the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round.
UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round draw (matches 24/25 July & 31 July/1 August)
The four teams entering in this round – BATE Borisov (BLR), Dinamo Zagreb (CRO), Midtjylland (DEN) and CFR Cluj (ROU) will be joined by the winners of the 16 first qualifying round ties.
UEFA Europa League first and second qualifying round main path draws
A total of 121 teams will be involved in the two draws.
Balzan are unseeded in Group 7 and will therefore meet one team from Partizan Belgrade (SRB), Slovan Bratislava (SVK), Keşla FK (AZE), CSKA Sofia (BUL) and FK Rabotnicki (MKD).
Birkirkara/KÍ Klaksvík are unseeded in Group 1 and will be drawn against one team amongst Žalgiris Vilnius (LTU), Molde (NOR), Nõmme Kalju (EST), Fola Esch (LUX) and Slavia Sofia (BUL).
On the other hand, Gzira/UE Sant Julià are unseeded in Group 8 and will be drawn against one team amongst Lech Poznań (POL), Beitar Jerusalem (ISR), Radnički Niš (SRB), Levski Sofia (BUL), Irtysh (KAZ) and Željezničar (BIH).
Birkirkara and Gzira will be in action next week in the first legs of the Preliminary Round on Thursday and Tuesday respectively with the second legs scheduled for July 5.
UEFA Europa League First qualifying round (12 & 19 July)
1 Žalgiris Vilnius (LTU), 2 Molde (NOR), 3 Nõmme Kalju (EST), 4 Fola Esch (LUX), 5 Slavia Sofia (BUL)
6 Glenavon (NIR), 7 Birkirkara (MLT) / KÍ Klaksvík (FRO), 8 Europa (GIB) / Prishtina (KOS), 9 Ilves Tampere (FIN), 10 Stjarnan (ISL)
1 Domžale (SVN), 2 Gabala (AZE), 3 Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO), 4 Rangers (SCO), 5 Apollon Limassol (CYP)
6 Progrès Niederkorn (LUX), 7 Široki Brijeg (BIH), 8 Shkupi (MKD), 9 Stumbras (LTU), 10 Dunajská Streda (SVK)
1 Maribor (SVN), 2 Trenčín (SVK), 3 Viitorul (ROU), 4 Neftçi (AZE), 5 Tobol Kostanay (KAZ)
6 Budućnost Podgorica (MNE), 7 Partizani (ALB), 8 Újpest (HUN), 9 Samtredia (GEO), 10 Racing Union (LUX)
1 Górnik Zabrze (POL), 2 Vardar (MKD), 3 Dinamo Minsk (BLR), 4 Spartak Subotica (SRB), 5 OFK Titograd (MNE)
6 Pyunik (ARM), 7 Zaria Balti (MDA), 8 Coleraine (NIR), 9 B36 Tórshavn (FRO) / St Joseph's (GIB), 10 Derry City (IRL)
1 Hafnarfjördur (ISL), 2 Nordsjælland (DEN), 3 AIK (SWE), 4 Ventspils (LVA), 5 Shakhtyor Soligorsk (BLR)
6 Cliftonville (NIR), 7 Lahti (FIN), 8 Luftëtari (ALB), 9 Connah's Quay (WAL), 10 Shamrock Rovers (IRL)
1 Osijek (CRO), 2 Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR), 3 Sarajevo (BIH), 4 Anorthosis Famagusta (CYP), 5 Kairat Almaty (KAZ)
6 Ferencváros (HUN), 7 Petrocub (MDA), 8 Laçi (ALB), 9 Engordany (AND) / Folgore (SMR), 10 Banants (ARM)
1 Partizan (SRB), 2 Slovan Bratislava (SVK), 3 Keşla (AZE), 4 CSKA Sofia (BUL), 5 Rabotnicki (MKD)
6 Milsami Orhei (MDA), 7 Rudar Pljevlja (MNE), 8 Riga (LVA), 9 Budapest Honvéd (HUN), 10 Balzan (MLT)
1 Lech Poznań (POL), 2 Beitar Jerusalem (ISR), 3 Radnički Niš (SRB), 4 Levski Sofia (BUL), 5 Irtysh (KAZ), 6 Željezničar (BIH)
7 Chikhura Sachkhere (GEO), 8 Vaduz (LIE), 9 Narva Trans (EST), 10 Cefn Druids (WAL) / Trakai (LTU), 11 Gandzasar-Kapan (ARM), 12 UE Sant Julià (AND) / Gzira United (MLT)
1 Rudar Velenje (SVN), 2 Dundalk (IRL), 3 Hibernian (SCO), 4 Sarpsborg (NOR), 5 Häcken (SWE), 6 København (DEN)
7 Levadia Tallinn (EST), 8 ÍBV (ISL), 9 KuPS Kuopio (FIN), 10 Liepāja (LVA), 11 Tre Fiori (SMR) / Bala Town (WAL), 12 NSÍ Runavík (FRO)
The teams are divided into nine groups. Within the nine groups, teams are divided equally into seeded teams and unseeded teams (the seven winners of the preliminary round ties take the coefficient of the seeded team from their tie). Each side in each group is allocated a number.
There are two draws: the first for groups 1 to 7 (which all feature ten teams), then one for groups 8 and 9 (12 teams).
UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round main path (26 July & 2 August)
The 27 teams entering at this stage – Sevilla (ESP), Beşiktaş (TUR), Sparta Praha (CZE), FCSB (ROU), Genk (BEL), AZ Alkmaar (NED), RB Leipzig (GER), Burnley (ENG), Atalanta (ITA), Bordeaux (FRA), Ufa (RUS), Rio Ave (POR), Asteras Tripolis (GRE), Mariupol (UKR), Hajduk Split (CRO), Admira Wacker Mödling (AUT), LASK Linz (AUT), St Gallen (SUI), Vitesse (NED), Atromitos (GRE), Hapoel Haifa (ISR), AEK Larnaca (CYP), Jagiellonia Białystok (POL), Aberdeen (SCO), Djurgården (SWE), Dinamo Brest (BLR) and Lillestrøm (NOR) – are joined by the 47 first qualifying round winners.
The teams are divided into seven groups. Within the seven groups, teams are divided equally into seeded teams and unseeded teams (the seven winners of the preliminary round ties take the coefficient of the seeded team from their tie). Each side in each group is allocated a number.
UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round champions path (26 July & 2 August)
This path will consist of the three teams eliminated in the UEFA Champions League preliminary round (which concludes on 29 June) and the 16 teams eliminated in the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round – possibly including Valletta.
The clubs will be seeded according to the coefficient of the seeded team in each UEFA Champions League first qualifying round tie – with the three teams from the preliminary round unseeded.
One team will be given a bye to the third qualifying round champions path by means of an additional draw prior to the champions path draw. That means 18 sides will be involved, nine seeded and nine unseeded.
06/18/2018 Antoine Busuttil UEFA Comments off
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