NYON, Switzerland — Ukrainian league runner-up Dnipro-1 was drawn Wednesday to face Greek membership Panathinaikos within the second qualifying spherical for the Champions League.
Dnipro-1, hoping to hitch Shakhtar Donetsk within the competitors’s group stage, will play the primary leg at “home” on July 25 or 26 with the sport set to be hosted in neighboring Slovakia, on Ukraine’s western border, at Košice.
Ukraine nationwide and membership groups can’t host worldwide video games in their very own nation for safety causes in the course of the invasion by Russia. UEFA has excluded all Russian groups from its membership competitions for the second straight season.
Teams from Russia’s navy ally Belarus additionally should play in impartial international locations and BATE Borisov will face Aris Limassol if it advances previous Partizani of Albania within the first qualifying spherical, which is performed from July 11-19.
Teams coming into within the second qualifying spherical should beat three opponents to advance to the elite 32-team group stage that begins in September.
Dinamo Zagreb was the highest-ranked staff in Wednesday’s draw and can play at dwelling first towards Astana or Dinamo Tbilisi.
Galatasaray was as soon as a group-stage common within the Champions League when Turkey’s champion acquired direct entry. The Turkish title winner was drawn to play the primary leg away to Žalgiris Vilnius or Struga.
Moldovan champion Sheriff beat Real Madrid in a September 2021 group-stage sport and was drawn Wednesday to face Maccabi Haifa or Hamrun Spartans if it eliminates Farul Constanța within the first qualifying spherical.
Genk, which misplaced the Belgian league title to Royal Antwerp in stoppage time of the final sport, was drawn to face Swiss league runner-up Servette.
First-leg video games are performed July 25-26 and return video games are on Aug. 1-2.
Losing groups swap throughout to the qualifying rounds of the second-tier Europa League.
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