It is now less than a week until the Invemen find out who they will be paired with in the Champions League First Qualifying Round, with all potential opponents confirmed by UEFA.
Tiernan Lynch’s men will be in the unseeded half of the draw and will be given task of taking on one of the 15 sides who we now know will make up the seeded half, due to their high coefficient ranking.
Anticipation has been building ever since Tomas Cosgrove held aloft the Gibson Cup back in April, with excited fans keeping an eye on who won their respective top flight titles all over the continent.
The final teams who will enter at the first round stage were confirmed over the past week, with the vast majority of seeded clubs in this year’s draw having experience of Group Stage football in recent years, whether that be in the Champions League, Europa League or Conference League.
The mouth-watering prospect is now less than a month away. In this article, we take a look at the key questions ahead of the next Tuesday’s draw.
When does the draw take place and how can I see it?
The draw takes place on Tuesday 20th June at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. The exact time of the draw will be confirmed as we come closer to Tuesday, but has kicked off between 11am and 12noon in past years.
The draw will be available to watch for free on UEFA’s website, and we will confirm all the details of how you can tune in at the beginning of next week.
In the 24 hours ahead of the draw UEFA are likely to narrow the list of potential opponents into three groups of five, based on geography and coefficient rankings.
Who can we be drawn against?
The 15 seeded teams in this years draw are as follows: Ferencvaros (Hungary), Qarabag (Azerbaijan), Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia), Ludogorets (Bulgaria), Sheriff Tiraspol (Macedonia), BATE Borisov (Belarus), Astana (Kazakhstan), Maccabi Haifa (Israel), Zilgiris Vilnius (Lithuania), HJK Helsinki (Finland), Flora Tallinn (Estonia), Shamrock Rovers (Republic of Ireland), TNS (Wales), Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia), Zrinjski Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina).
Hungarian side Ferencvaros are, on paper, the most difficult side we could face as they come into the draw as the top-ranked side. They have also won their domestic title for the past five years running.
It’s worth noting that if we are drawn against either Sheriff Tiraspol or BATE Borisvov the ties would be played outside of their native countries as the two clubs will play their home games elsewhere due to the security situation in the region.
Slovan Bratislava feature ex-Rangers attacker Vladimir Weiss in their ranks, while HJK Helsinki count former Linfield striker Eetu Vertainen and Northern Ireland goalkeeper Conor Hazard among their former players.
The Invermen took on TNS, who have regained the title in the Welsh Premier, in a pre-season encounter last summer. The side from Oswestry went on to lose to Linfield in the First Qualifying Round just a few weeks later. Closer to home, Stephen Bradley’s Shamrock Rovers are another possible opponent – although some fans may be hoping for a European trip further than Dublin!
What happens after the first round draw?
Following the draw for the first round, Uefa will agree dates with both clubs for games to take place on either 11th/12th July for the first leg and then on the 18th/19th July for the second leg tie. Supporters are urged not to book travel or accommodation until this has been announced by the club, as home and away legs can occasionally be switched for a variety of reasons.
The draw for the Second Qualifying Round of the Champions League takes place on Wednesday 21st June, with Larne finding out who their potential opponents are, should they progress from the first round tie. We will also be entered into the Champions Path of the Conference League second round, where would face another beaten Champions League entrant, should we lose Champions League opener.
