With just seven days to go until the UEFA Champions League draw, we take a look at The New Saints’ potential opponents in the first qualifying round.
Thanks to their performances on the continent over the last five seasons, The Saints will be one of fifteen seeded clubs when the draw gets underway in Nyon next week.
As a result, Anthony Limbrick will see his side avoid European heavyweights such as Malmö, Ludogorets Razgrad, and Sheriff Tiraspol, which we’re sure will come as great relief to the head coach.
But with 15 opponents lying in wait in the unseeded pot, there’s still the potential for a number of tricky ties – perhaps none more so than Polish champions, Lech Poznan, who are the team fans of every club will be hoping to avoid.
Regardless of who you face at this stage though, it’s going to be a tough challenge – they’re all league champions at the end of the day and will be as eager as anyone to progress as far as they can in the competition.
In and amongst them are a few familiar destinations for Saints fans, including Northern Ireland, Kosovo, and the Faroe Islands – three countries that the team has visited in recent seasons.
Below is the full list of potential first qualifying round opponents, as well as their respective nations, listed in order of UEFA club coefficient:
• Linfield (Northern Ireland)
• Zrinjski Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
• Shakhtyor Soligorsk (Belarus)
• Sutjeska Nikšić (Montenegro)
• KÍ Klaksvík (Faroe Islands)
• Lech Poznań (Poland)
• Hibernians (Malta)
• FC Tobol (Kazakhstan)
• KF Shkupi (North Macedonia)
• Pyunik (Armenia)
• RFS (Latvia)
• Dinamo Batumi (Georgia)
• KF Tirana (Albania)
• Ballkani (Kosovo)
• Preliminary round winner*
*The preliminary round will be played as a knockout tournament, hosted in Iceland, and will be contested by the following four teams:
• FCI Levadia Tallinn (Estonia)
• S.P. La Fiorita (San Marino)
• Inter Club d’Escaldes (Andorra)
• Víkingur Reykjavík (Iceland)
The UEFA Champions League first qualifying round draw begins at 11am on Tuesday 14th June, and as always, we’ll be bringing you live coverage and reaction via our website and social media channels.
