NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Two-time European champion Benfica will play in Greece against PAOK in Monday’s draw for the Champions League third qualifying round.
Benfica’s Stadium of Light in Lisbon hosted the 2020 final last week but won’t see action yet in this season’s edition. UEFA ordered the current qualifying round to be single-leg elimination games because of the tight schedule in a pandemic-delayed season.
In other pairs for matches on 15 or 16 September, Dynamo Kyiv will receive AZ Alkmaar and the Red Star Belgrade qualifier has been drawn to Omonia from Cyprus.Red Star will qualify for teams through the 4 qualifying rounds for the third consecutive season.
Hungarian champion Ferencvaros will host Dinamo Zagreb.Hungary said last week that its borders were final for non-residents from 1 September to increased COVID-19 infections.
All UEFA matches lately take up enthusiast positions in stadiums.
UEFA tied on Monday as two clubs are in the process of seeking their withdrawal from the final qualifying rounds in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Slovan Bratislava of Slovakia and Drita of Kosovo were denied the opportunity to play through the local government, in the Faroe Islands and Switzerland, respectively, after testing the positive players in COVID-19 the pre-match checks required by UEFA.CAS this week.
Other teams, including Salzburg and Olympiakos, will participate in next month’s elimination round, which will be played as classic pairs in two back-and-forth matches, with the draw taking place on Tuesday.
The overdue draw for all 32 teams is scheduled for October 1 in Athens.
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