UEFA Europa League draw: pass notes
Thursday, July 23, 2015
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There is a homecoming for Ronald Koeman while four European debutants face difficult ties: we take an in-depth look at the third qualifying round fixtures.
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The UEFA Europa League third qualifying round draw was made last Friday and completed tonight with the second qualifying round second legs. UEFA.com looks at the match-ups and other key facts.
FULL DRAW (ties 30 July & 6 August)
Selected ties:
Southampton v Vitesse
• Southampton manager Ronald Koeman coached Vitesse between 2000 and 2001, taking them to the UEFA Cup second round and losing to Internazionale Milano on away goals.
Girondins de Bordeaux v AEK Larnaca
• Bordeaux faced AEK's compatriots APOEL in the 2013/14 group stage. Both games were 2-1 home wins, the only victories either side managed prior to elimination.
Slovan Liberec v Hapoel Kiryat Shmona
• Hapoel met Slovan's Czech rivals Sparta Praha in the 2012/13 group phase, going down 3-1 away and drawing 1-1 at home.
Sturm Graz v Rubin Kazan
• Both these teams were in the 2011/12 group stage, Sturm losing home and away to Lokomotiv Moskva.
Târgu Mureş v Saint-Étienne
Altach v Vitória SC
AZ Alkmaar v İstanbul Başakşehir
• Târgu Mureş, Altach and İstanbul will all be playing their first UEFA club competition ties.
Wolfsberg v Borussia Dortmund
• Wolfsberg were the only one of six European debutants in the second qualifying round to survive.
Athletic Club v İnter Bakı
• İnter needed extra time against FH of Iceland to finally get past the second qualifying round at the sixth attempt.
IF Elfsborg v Odds BK
• It was a good second qualifying round for Sweden and Norway as both had all three teams go through, Elfsborg inflicting Denmark's only elimination to Randers.
West Ham United v Astra Giurgiu
• The only one of the last three-ever Respect Fair Play entrants still in the competition, West Ham needed penalties to knock out Birkirkara and play one of last season's group-stage entrants.
Thun v Vaduz
• Vaduz are in Europe as Liechtenstein Cup winners representing the principality but play in the Swiss Super League, where their opponents include Thun, who beat them three times last season, drawing once. They already have a league fixture scheduled later in August.
Past masters:
• 1997 UEFA Champions League winners Dortmund are among the new entrants along with past European Cup finalists St-Étienne and Sampdoria, who like BVB previously lifted the European Cup Winners' Cup.
• Joining them from the second qualifying round are two-time UEFA Cup winners IFK Göteborg plus former Cup Winners' Cup winners Aberdeen and West Ham.
• These sides are aiming to reach the group stage for at least the second year running: St-Étienne, FC Zürich, Krasnodar, Standard Liège, Apollon Limassol, Astra Giurgiu, Dinamo Minsk, FC København, Legia Warszawa, Trabzonspor.
New names:
• These teams could be their nation's first group stage entrants: Kukës (Albania), Željezničar (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Rabotnicki (FYR Macedonia), Vaduz (Liechtenstein)
Up for grabs:
• The winners of the 29 ties advance to the the play-off round draw at 13.00CET on 7 August.
• Joining those 29 clubs will be the 15 clubs defeated in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, which was also drawn on Friday.
• Already through to the group stage are Schalke, Napoli, Tottenham Hotspur, Villarreal, Olympique Marseille, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, Braga, Fiorentina, Anderlecht, Liverpool, Beşiktaş, Lokomotiv Moskva, Augsburg, Asteras Tripolis, Groningen and Sion, to be joined by 22 play-off winners and ten teams beaten in the UEFA Champions League play-offs.