Motherwell will be in the non-champions side of the draw for the 3rd qualifying round with the ties scheduled for July31/August1 and August7/8. The daunting task that will face Stuart McCall and his men will be to overcome one of the following teams, Dynamo Kiev (62), Panathinaikos (51), FC Copenhagen (47) and Fenerbahce (41). The coefficients suggest that any of them will be hot favourites to take care of Motherwell (7).
That we enter the competition as underdogs will do nothing to dampen the excitement that has grown up over the summer months as fans look forward a glamour game at Fir Park. Tickets for the home leg have been on sale for weeks and they are now available to non-season ticket holders. For anyone looking to support the club in these troubled times attendance at this game is a perfect opportunity.
If the first leg happens to see us on the road fans hoping to travel will have to get off the mark fast. Making arrangements to get transport and accommodation in Kiev with a week and a half’s notice will be a big challenge. Greece, Turkey and Denmark are more accessible and the cheap flight websites could be receiving a flurry of bookings from Lanarkshire over the weekend.
The draw will be streamed via uefa.com and no doubt more than a few workplaces will come to a halt while the formalities take place. Celtic also enter the competition at this stage but they have the advantage of being seeded in their section and will face weaker opposition (in theory!).