Arsenal will be seeded when the draw for the Third Qualifying
Round of the Champions League takes place (UK time) in Nyon on
Friday, August 3.
That means Arsène Wenger's team will avoid Liverpool, Valencia,
Sevilla, Benfica, Ajax, Werder Bremen, Celtic, Lazio, Anderlecht
and Dynamo Kiev.
Shakhtar Donetsk, Steaua Bucharest, Rangers, Levski Sofia and
Besiktas will complete the line-up of seeds provided they come
through their Second Qualifying Round ties. If any of them are
knocked out, their place as seeds will be taken by the team which
beats them.
When Friday's draw is made, the second legs of the Second
Qualifying Round ties will not have been played.
Arsenal will most likely face a team which advances from the Second
Qualifying Round. That could mean a reunion with Salzburg, who have
already beaten Arsenal this summer, or Dinamo Zagreb, who lost 5-1
on aggregate to the Gunners in the Third Qualifying Round last
season.
Of the clubs entering the Champions League at the same stage as
Arsenal, seven are unseeded and could therefore face the Gunners -
Fenerbahce, AEK Athens, Dinamo Bucharest, Spartak Moscow, Toulouse,
Zurich and the team against whom Thierry Henry broke Ian Wright's
Club scoring record, Sparta Prague.
The first legs of the Third Qualifying Round ties are scheduled for
August 14 and 15 with the second legs following on August 28 and
29. Winners in this round will qualify for the Group Stage, while
losing teams will be entered in the first round of the Uefa
Cup.
Arsenal will be seeded in the Group Stage if they win their
qualifier.
Scroll down the page to find out which teams will be in the draw
for the Third Qualifying Round, plus confirmation of the clubs
which has already qualified for the Group Stage.
THIRD QUALIFYING ROUND (Arsenal's possible opponents in
bold)
Liverpool (England)
Valencia (Spain)
Sevilla (Spain)
Benfica (Portugal)
Ajax (Holland)
Werder Bremen (Germany)
Celtic (Scotland)
Lazio (Italy)
Anderlecht (Belgium)
Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine)
Sparta Prague (Czech Republic)
Fenerbahçe (Turkey)
AEK Athens (Greece)
Dinamo Bucharest (Romania)
Spartak Moscow (Russia)
Toulouse (France)
Zürich (Switzerland)
FC Pyunik (Armenia) or FC Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)
Tampere United (Finland) v PFC Levski Sofia (Bulgaria)
Rangers FC (Scotland) v FK Zeta (Montenegro)
Debreceni VSC (Hungary) v IF Elfsborg
(Sweden)
Zaglebie Lubin (Poland) v FC Steaua Bucuresti (Romania)
KRC Genk (Belgium) v FK Sarajevo (Bosnia Herzegovina)
FC København (Denmark) v Beitar Jerusalem FC (Israel)
FC Astana (Kazakhstan) v Rosenborg BK (Norway)
FH Hafnarfjördur (Iceland) v FC BATE Borisov (Belarus)
FK Ventspils (Latvia) v FC Salzburg (Austria)
MSK Zilina (Slovakia) v SK Slavia Prague (Czech Republic)
FK Crvena Zvezda (Serbia) v FC Levadia Tallinn (Estonia)
NK Domzale (Slovenia) v NK Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
Besiktas JK (Turkey) v FC Sheriff (Macedonia)
GROUP STAGE
AC Milan (Italy)
Barcelona (Spain)
Internazionale (Italy)
Real Madrid (Spain)
Manchester United (England)
Chelsea (England)
Lyon (France)
Porto (Portugal)
PSV Eindhoven (Holland)
Roma (Italy)
Schalke 04 (Germany)
Stuttgart (Germany)
CSKA Moscow (Russia)
Sporting Lisbon (Portugal)
Marseille (France)
Olympiacos (Greece)
