Valletta are currently focusing on the first leg of their Champions League second qualifying round match against Hungarian side Ferencvaros but the Maltese champions already know their potential opponents should they go through to the next round.
The draw of the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, made on Monday afternoon at UEFA’s Nyon headquarters, pitted the winner of the Valletta/Ferencvaros match against either Croatian team Dinamo Zagreb or Saburtalo from Georgia. The games are scheduled to be played on August 6/7 and 13. Valletta advanced to the second qualifying round of the 2019/20 Champions League at the expense of Luxembourg’s F91 Dudelange on the away goals rule after a 3-3 aggregate draw. Led by coach Darren Abdilla, Valletta flew to Budapest this morning (Monday) ahead of their first-leg match against Ferencvaros on Wednesday at the Groupama Arena (8pm). The second leg is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, July 30 at the Centenary Stadium. The losing side of the Valletta/Ferencvaros tie will go into the third qualifying round of the Europa League and a clash with either Andorra’s FC Santa Coloma or Astana of Kazakhstan. The dates of the UEFA Europa League Q3 matches are August 8 and 15 with the winning teams in this phase advancing to the Play-Offs, the last hurdle prior to the group stages. EUROPA LEAGUEIn the Europa League, Gżira United will meet either Jeunesse Esch, of Luxembourg, or Portuguese side Vitória SC in the third qualifying round of the Europa League if they overcome Latvian team Ventspils in the second round. Gżira United advanced to the second qualifying round of the Europa League in dramatic fashion after recovering from a 3-0 aggregate deficit to draw 3-3 away to Croatian team Hajduk Split last week. The Maroons, who are due to travel to Latvia on Tuesday evening, qualified on the away goals rule.