Slovan met the opponents in the group: Copenhagen or the Greek PAOK, they will also have a rerun with Lincoln! – Sports

ISTANBUL – ŠK Slovan Bratislava footballers will meet FC Copenhagen, PAOK Thessaloniki and Lincoln Red Imps in the F-group of the European Conference League. Opponents from Denmark, Greece and Gibraltar were awarded the first draw of the group stage of the new competition in Istanbul on Friday.

The reigning Slovak champion, who moved to the EKL, after a failure in the playoffs of the European League, figured in the third performance basket. The first round will take place on Thursday, September 16, the final sixth is scheduled for December 9. Only the winners of all eight groups will advance directly to the round of 16, with the teams from the second places fighting in the sixteenth final in February against the teams from the third places in the EL groups. The final of the premiere edition of the third most prestigious European club competition will take place on May 25 in Tirana, Albania.

Slovan has had successful experiences with two opponents in the recent past. PAOK eliminated EL in the playoffs in the 2019/2020 season, when he made it to the group stage. He has already competed twice with Lincoln this year, in the third preliminary round EL advanced thanks to a 3: 1 victory on the opponent’s ground, which he followed up with a home draw 1: 1.

The winner of MŠK Žilina in the playoffs of FK Jablonec with Slovak midfielder Jakub Považanec will face AZ Alkmaar, CFR Kluž and FC Randers in the D-group. Another Czech representative of Slavia Prague, where two Slovaks Jakub Hromada and Ivan Schranz work, will play in the “Eck” against Feyenoord Rotterdam with Róbert Boženík, Union Berlin and Maccabi Haif. FC Basel, FK Karabach and Kajrat Almaty are waiting for the Cypriot Omonoia Nicosia, whose jersey is being worn by Tomáš Hubočan and Michal Ďuriš.

Draw of group phase EKL 2021/2022:
A-group: LASK Linz, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Alaškert Yerevan, HJK Helsinki
B-group: KAA Gent, Partizan Belgrade, Flora Tallinn, Anorthosis Famagusta
C-group: AS Roma, Zorya Luhansk, CSKA Sofia, FK Bodö / Glimt
D-group: AZ Alkmaar, CFR Cluj, FK Jablonec, FC Randers
E-group: Slavia Prague, Feyenoord Rotterdam, Union Berlin, Maccabi Haifa
F-group: FC Copenhagen, PAOK Thessaloniki, ŠK SLOVAN BRATISLAVA, Lincoln Red Imps
G-group: Tottenham Hotspur, Stade Rennes, Vitesse Arnhem, NŠ Mura
H-group: FC Basel, FK Karabach, Kajrat Almaty, Omonoia Nicosia

EKL 2021/2022 calendar:
September 16: 1st round of the group phase
September 30: 2nd round of the group phase
October 21: Round 3 of the group stage
November 4: Round 4 of the group stage
November 25: Round 5 of the group stage
December 9: Round 6 of the group stage
December 13: 16-finals draw
February 17, 24: 16-final
February 25: Draw of the eight finals
March 10, 17: Round of 16
March 18: Draw of the quarterfinals and semifinals
April 7-14: Quarterfinals
April 28, May 5: Semifinals
May 25: Final (Tirana)

• The author: © List
• Source: TASR