Tuesday 2 June 2015 07:13, UK
Monaco and Lazio are on the list of potential opponents for Manchester United in their Champions League play-off.
Manchester United must come through a two-leg tie to reach the group phase after finishing fourth in the Premier League and, despite being top seeds, could face a tough test to qualify for Europe’s elite club competition proper.
First, ten teams will go head-to-head in the third qualifying round, with ties played on July 28/29 and August 4/5.
Seeded sides Shakhtar Donetsk, Ajax, CSKA Moscow, Club Brugge and Monaco will be paired with Young Boys, Sparta Prague, Fenerbahce, Panathinaikos and Rapid Vienna.
The winners will go into the play-off round – where United, Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon and Lazio will be waiting. The draw for the play-off round will be held on August 7, with the ties played on August 18/19 and 25/26.
United, Valencia and Bayer Leverkusen will be seeded. So will Shakhtar and Ajax, should they qualify. If they don’t, Sporting Lisbon, followed by CSKA Moscow will take their privileged spots, with Lazio stepping up should the Russian side fail to make the play-off round.
With all those scenarios to play out, United can face one of ten teams:
Sporting Lisbon (UEFA ranking: 33)
Sporting Lisbon finished third in Portugal’s top flight this season, behind champions Benfica and Porto, failed to progress from their Champions League group after being beaten home and away by Chelsea, and immediately exited the Europa League at the hands of Wolfsburg. Top scorer in 2014/15, Islam Slimani of Algeria, offers a threat up front but reported Manchester United target William Carvalho is also key.
CSKA Moscow (UEFA ranking: 34)
CSKA Moscow frustrated Manchester City home and away in the Champions League group stages this season, defeating Manuel Pellegrini’s side at the Etihad after holding them to a 2-2 in Russia. However, they ended up bottom of a tough pool and, domestically, finished runners-up to Zenit St Petersburg.
Lazio (UEFA ranking: 40)
Lazio booked their spot in the Champions League qualifying round with a final day victory over Napoli to finish third in Serie A and showed their quality in cup competitions by reaching the final of the Coppa Italia. The World Cup’s top scorer of all time Miroslav Klose leads the line and came out on top of Lazio’s scoring charts, ably assisted by the creativity of Antonio Candreva.
Club Brugge (UEFA ranking: 51)
Club Brugge finished top of the regular season table in Belgium, but finished runners-up to Gent in the play-offs, meaning they will have to reach the Champions League group stages the tough way. Colombian import Jose Izquierdo has been a hit in his first season, while former Barcelona youth product Victor Vazquez remains a fixture in the heart of the team’s midfield.
Monaco (UEFA ranking: 68)
It seems odd that Monaco, who knocked Arsenal out of the Champions League before eventually going down 1-0 on aggregate to finalists Juventus, must face the rigours of a play-off, but such is the price Leonardo Jardim’s men must pay for finishing third in France’s top flight. Unless he earns a move elsewhere this summer, Radamel Falcao could potentially haunt United.
Young Boys (UEFA ranking: 69)
For the first time since 2010, Young Boys get a shot at the Champions League, after finishing second to Basel in the Swiss Super League. They were heavily beaten by Everton (7-2 on aggregate) in the last 32 of the Europa League in 2014/15 and, despite being ranked just one place below Monaco, would be a far more favourable draw for United.
Sparta Prague (UEFA ranking: 72)
While Czech league winners Viktoria Plzen take the ‘champions route’, Sparta Prague go into the ‘non-champions’ pool in the third-qualifying round. They failed to escape their Europa League group in 2014/15 but showed their strength at home with 3-1 and 4-1 wins over Young Boys and Slovan Bratislava respectively, before holding Napoli to a 0-0.
Fenerbahce (UEFA ranking: 75)
Fenerbache missed out on retaining the Turkish title by just three points to arch rivals Galatasaray this season, as Senegal international Moussa Sow got among the goals. With Turkey legend Emre and Brazilian playmaker Diego in their ranks, Fenerbahce could surprise – and former Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt will be hugely motivated to upset his old rivals, should they be paired with United.
Panathinaikos (UEFA ranking: 100) – probably
Panathinaikos are the only one of United’s potential opponents yet to cement their place in the Champions League qualifying pool. However, the Greek giants – who finished second in the regular season table – currently comfortably top a post-season play-off group which determines who gets the Champions League spot. Former United player Luke Steele is their regular goalkeeper.
Rapid Vienna (UEFA ranking: 121)
Rapid Vienna lost out to HJK Helsinki in their play-off for the Europa League this season but finished second behind Red Bull Salzburg to qualify for the third qualifying round of the Champions League this summer. Slovenia international Robert Beric is their key man – the 23 year old is one to watch after netting 27 in 33 appearances in the league this season.
