The champions of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia will learn their opponents for the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League later today, with the draw set to determine the opening hurdle in their European campaigns.
As is customary, UEFA announced the pre-draw groups on Monday morning, reducing the number of possible opponents for each club. The Baltic champions cannot be drawn against one another.
Latvian champions Riga FC and Estonian champions FC Flora have both been placed in the first seeded group. Their potential first-round opponents are Azerbaijani champions Sabah, managed by Lithuanian coach Valdas Dambrauskas, Armenian champions Ararat-Armenia, Georgian champions Iberia 1999, Andorran champions Inter Club d’Escaldes, Maltese champions Floriana, San Marino champions Tre Fiori and North Macedonian champions Vardar.
Meanwhile, Lithuanian champions FK Kauno Žalgiris, who are preparing for their debut campaign in Europe’s premier club competition, have been placed in the second unseeded group.
Their possible opponents from the seeded side include Kosovo champions Drita, Bosnian champions Borac Banja Luka, Icelandic champions Víkingur Reykjavík, Kazakh champions Kairat Almaty, who competed in the UEFA Champions League league phase last season, Romanian champions Universitatea Craiova, Faroese champions KÍ Klaksvík and Moldovan champions Petrocub Hîncești.
The draw for the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round will take place in Nyon and is scheduled to begin at 17:00 local Baltic time.
