AEK, Aris await UEFA Cup fate

Greece’s UEFA Cup entrants, AEK and Aris, will discover their second qualifying round opponents tomorrow in Nyon, France (14:00 GR, 7:00pm Eastern). Last year, both clubs avoided this round of the tournament — thanks to a high coefficient ranking for Greece; however, the high ranking is a thing of the past for this year, and both clubs must qualify for the first round.

The draw, which is split up into three different European regions, sees both of the Greek clubs included in the list of seeded clubs in the Southern-Mediterranean region. By being seeded in this region, AEK and Aris will be paired with an opponent from the same region’s list of unseeded clubs. The second qualifying round is a knockout round lasting two legs — home an away. Winners of each tie will progress to the next round, known as the first round.

The second qualifying round will feature 74 clubs: 37 winners from the first qualifying round; 11 winners from the third round of the UEFA Intertoto Cup; and 16 clubs making their first appearance in European competition this year.

Southern-Mediterranean Region

Seeded teams

Deportivo (Spain)
Beşiktaş (Turkey)
Braga (Portugal)
AEK Athens (Greece)
Hapoel Tel Aviv (Israel)
Napoli (Italy)
Aris Thessaloniki (Greece)
Litex Lovech (Bulgaria)
Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
Vaslui (Romania)
Lokomotiv Sofia (Bulgaria)
Cherno More (Bulgaria)

Unseeded teams

Hajduk Split (Croatia)
Vojvodina (Serbia)
Borac Čačak (Serbia)
Maccabi Netanya (Israel)
Ironi Kiryat Shmona (Israel)
Slaven Belupo (Croatia)
APOEL (Cyprus)
Omonia (Cyprus)
Interblock Ljubljana (Slovenia)
Vllaznia Shkodër (Albania)
Zrinjski Mostar (Bosnia Herzegovina)
Široki Brijeg (Bosnia Herzegovina)

Central-East Region

Seeded teams

Stuttgart (Germany)
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine)
Austria Wien (Austria)
Hertha BSC (Germany)
Rennes (France)
Zürich (Switzerland)
Grasshopper (Switzerland)
Slovan Liberec (Czech Republic)
FC Moscow (Russia)
Debrecen (Hungary) ***

Unseeded teams

Red Bull Salzburg (Austria)
Young Boys (Swizerland)
Bellinzona (Swizerland)
Lech Poznań (Poland)
Sturm Graz (Austria)
Legia Warsaw (Poland)
MŠK Žilina (Slovakia)
WIT Georgia (Georgia)
Győri ETO (Hungary)

Northern Region

Seeded teams

Rosenborg (Norway)
Manchester City (England)
Aston Villa (England)
Copenhagen (Denmark)
Brøndby (Denmark)
Viking (Norway)
Queen of the South (Scotland)
Gent (Belgium)
Elfsborg (Sweden)
Lillestrøm (Norway)
Stabæk (Norway) ***

Unseeded teams

Midtjylland (Denmark)
Nordsjælland (Denmark)
Djurgården (Sweden)
Kalmar (Sweden)
Haka (Finland)
Honka (Finland_
FH (Iceland)
Liepājas Metalurgs (Latvia)
Sūduva (Lithuania)
St Patrick’s Athletic (Republic of Ireland)

*** Due to the uneven number of clubs in the Central-East and Northern Regions, Debrecen (Hungary) and Stabæk (Norway) are classified as ‘unknown teams. This means they will be drawn against a seeded team from another region.