BRENDAN Rodgers will find out his first competitive fixture as Celtic manager at 11 a.m. when the draw for the Champions League second qualifying phase is made in Nyon, Switzerland.
The Scottish champions are seeded and should be handed an eminently winnable tie, with potential opponents ranging from sides form Luxembourg to Lithuania. Should they progress, Celtic will embark on the ‘Champions route’ to the group stage and would be seeded against fellow league winners in the third and fourth qualifying rounds.
Aberdeen, who finished as runners-up to Celtic last term after seeing their title challenge peter out, enter Europe at the first qualifying round stage but are seeded for the draw. Hearts, who finished third on their return to the top flight, come in at the same stage and are also seeded. That draw begins at noon.
Hibernian have been rewarded for their historic Scottish Cup triumph with a place in the second qualifying round of the Europa League, but Neil Lennon’s side find themselves unseeded for the draw. A few hours prior to the respective draws, teams will be split into smaller groups, further narrowing down the potential opponents.
However, as it stands . . .
CELTIC could face:
DUNDALK (IRE): The Irish champions, who are managed by ex-Dunfermline boss Stephen Kenny. Celtic have already broken Kenny’s heart once after condemning his Pars side to a 1-0 Scottish Cup final defeat in 2007.
CRUSADERS (NIR): After being handed a trip to Belfast to face Cliftonville two years ago, Celtic could land another journey to the Northern Irish capital against Crusaders, where former Rangers midfielder Andrew Mitchell is one of the star men.
VARDAR SKOPJE (MAC): A journey to the capital of Macedonia would represent arguably the toughest away trip in the second qualifying round. As well as the 3000-mile round trip, temperatures can hit 35 degrees in July, while a handy Vardar squad includes players from Brazil and Colombia, and former West Brom star Goran Popov.
SEINAJOEN JALKAPALLOKERHO (FIN): A draw against SJK would see Celtic cross swords with former Motherwell midfielder Simo Valakari, who enhanced his burgeoning reputation as a manager by guiding the Finnish minnows to the first league title in their history.
HEARTS / ABERDEEN could face . . .
FK SHKENDIJA (MAC): Deja vu for the Dons? Once again Aberdeen find themselves with the men from Macedonia as potential opponents, just 12 months after dispatching them on away goals following a fraught 1-1 aggregate draw. Niall McGinn’s goal saw the PittordrIe side through.
ORDABASY SHYMKENT (KAZ): The nightmare journey Hearts and Aberdeen will be desperate to avoid. Bordering Tajikistan, it would mean embarking on a financially damaging and physically gruelling 8000-mile round-trip to southern Kazakhstan.
GLENAVON (NIR): A far more manageable journey could see a trip to Northern Ireland on the cards, where the task would be to get past former Partick Thistle, Inverness and St Johnstone keeper Jonathan Tuffey, who keeps goal for Glenavon.
EUROPA FC (GIB): By coefficient, the worst team participating in European competition this season. With a side largely packed with players from neighbouring Spain, they finished second in the Gibraltar Premier League last term. Their most recent continental campaign ended with a 9-0 aggregate defeat to Slovan Bratislava.
HIBERNIAN could face . . .
RACING GENK (BEL): The highest seeded team Hibs could potentially face. Genk have been the champions of Belgium as recently as 2011, but, after a disappointing fourth-place finish last term, find themselves in the early stages of the Europa League.
NK MARIBOR (SLO): Maribor are regular visitors to these shores, having faced Scottish sides four times in the last 15 years. They dumped Hibs out of Europe in the 2010/11 campaign and have palyed Rangers twice. Most recently, they stunned Celtic by knocking the Hoops out of the Champions League qualification 2-1 on aggregate in 2014.
AUSTRIA VIENNA (AUS): Another tough prospect for Hibs, with one of the Vienna giants kicking off their continental campaign at an early stage. While a shadow of former glories, they still boast Austria’s No 1 Robert Almer - currently starring at Euro 2016 - and 55-times capped Croatian Ognjen Vukojevic.
HJK HELSINKI (FIN): Should they navigate their first qualifying round tie, HJK would represent a blast from the past for new Hibs manager Neil Lennon, who dispatched the Finns with the minimum of fuss as Celtic manager, registering a 4-1 aggregate win during Champions League qualifying in 2012.
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