Fewer options: Benfica know possible Europa League foes in Q3 | OneFootball

UEFA has revealed the details of the draw for the third qualifying round of the Europa League, a ceremony that will take place this Monday in Nyon, Switzerland, starting at 12:00 pm. If they get past St. Gallen in the previous round, Benfica will find out the opponent they could face in the battle for a place in the competition’s play-off.

The matches in the third qualifying round are scheduled for August 6 and 13, with the official kick-off times to be announced by UEFA by July 24. According to the information provided by European football’s governing body, Benfica will be seeded in the Main Path if they eliminate St. Gallen.

In that scenario, the Eagles could face only one of three possible opponents: the winner of the tie between Sheriff Tiraspol and Maccabi Tel-Aviv from the second qualifying round of the Europa League, or one of the losers of the Sturm Graz-Hearts and Fenerbahçe-Górnik Zabrze ties from the second qualifying round of the Champions League.

As such, the list of possible opponents for Marco Silva’s team is quite limited. The draw will be split into two separate paths: the Champions Path and the Main Path. The Champions Path will feature 12 teams from the second qualifying round of the Champions League, with six of them seeded, creating six two-legged ties.

The Main Path, meanwhile, will include 14 clubs. Three enter directly at this stage, nine come from the second qualifying round of the Europa League, and two drop down from the second qualifying round of the Champions League in the league path. In this group, seven teams will be seeded, making up another seven ties. Before thinking about that stage, however, Benfica must get past St. Gallen to remain in the race for a place in the Europa League’s league phase.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.