Most national competitions in Europe are over. AEK waited for some of these to be completed, but no more. The important squad changes that are taking place and could impact the Union’s path have eliminated a strong opponent and presented them with other potential Champions League 3 qualifying rounds.

The Young Boys came out on the opening shot

The Young Boys were the only strong team in the 3rd qualifying round for a long time, as was AEK the only weak team. Inter winning a ticket for the Champions League groups up to Serie A triggered a domino effect that sent the Swiss champions into the play-offs and disappeared from the Greek champions’ radar at least in the first phase.

In addition, the following changes also occurred: Ukrainian champions Shakhtar advanced from the playoffs to the groups, Czech champions Sparta advanced from the second to the 3rd qualifying round, and Turkish and Cypriot champions Galatasaray and Aris advanced to the 2nd qualifying round before the first.

Croats, Danes and Turks if…

AEK have known for some time that their possible opponents also include the two from the 2nd qualifying round, including Dinamo Zagreb. After last week, he learned of two other similar cases.

Copenhagen mathematically won the title in Denmark and the two who are in the 2nd qualifying round are candidates for the draw with AEK. The same applies to the pair of Galatasaray, who won a round and thus participate in the same draw as the Greek team.

These are also the last pairs known before the qualification process begins. Three more will appear in the strong group, however these will be announced once the 1st qualifying round is complete.

Chances are that in the remaining three pairs that will form the strong group, there will be teams like Ferencvaros, Garabah, Slovan, Sheriff, BATE, Asana, Maccabi Haifa, etc. so strong in pair along with three weak ones like Lincoln Red Ibs, Klaksvik, Partizani but also Polish champion Rakof by Yiannis Papanikolaou and Stratos Svarnas.j.

Visible opportunity to get strong

The draws with the presence of pairs and not clubs give AEK several chances to rise to a strong number in the draw of the playoffs, in which they will be present, since they will be played before their matches in the 3rd qualifying round .

As already mentioned, the “Yellows and Blacks” need a proper draw to place themselves in the group of powerful and theoretically increase their chances of reaching the gold group stage of the competition.

A suitable draw means a highly rated opponent in the 3rd qualifier, allowing them to take them on in the playoff draw and (along with their opponent in the 3rd qualifier) ​​become a powerhouse.

Teams like Ferencvaros, Garabaga, Galatasaray, Copenhagen, if they reach the 3rd qualifying round and get drawn AEK, will probably give them a factor that sends them to the strong playoffs.

On the contrary, when AEK meets a pair where the strongest teams will be like BATE, Sherif, Astana, etc., the path to… a move seems more difficult, even if the chances of qualifying for the playoffs are against such teams climb an opponent.

The dates of the qualifiers

Union will play the first game of the 3rd qualifying round on August 8th and 9th, the second on the 15th of the month (draw on July 24th). If they reach the playoffs (drawing on August 7th), then they will meet for the first time on August 22nd and 23rd and for the second time on August 29th and 30th of the month and secure the “ticket” for the groups .

Should he be eliminated in the 3rd qualifier, he will play in the Europa League play-offs on August 24th and play the second leg on the 31st of the month (draw on August 7th). If they are eliminated in the Champions League play-offs, they move up the Europa League groups, while if they are eliminated in the Europa League play-offs they are relegated to the Europa Conference League groups.

In the Europa League draw

UEFA’s odd programming will evoke another paradox we’ve seen with then-Greek champions Olympiacos in recent years.

Although in the Champions League, AEK will also find themselves in the Europa League draw even if they never go out! The reason lies in the short period of time available for the qualifiers and the second-tier UEFA competition. As a result, they will be included in the Europa League play-off draw on August 7th along with their 3rd qualifying round pairing.

The new (and complicated) system includes four priority groups, each of which includes groups from different… sources.

• The group 1st priority These include Ajax (Netherlands), LASK (Austria), Belgium’s Cup Winners or Third Party (Antwerpen or Union or Genk), Ukraine’s Third Party (Dnipro or Zorya), Scotland’s Cup Winners or Third Party (Inverness or Aberdeen) and Chukaritsky (Serbia).
• The group 2nd priority includes the six losers of the Champions League 3rd qualifying round and the champions path. AEK could also be in this group if they are disqualified at the first hurdle they encounter in the top club competition qualifiers
• The group 3rd priority comprises the five winners from the qualifying round of the Europa League champions
• The group 4th priority includes Lugano and the two winners from the non-champions path of the Europa League qualifying round and therefore Olympiacos if they qualify

The draw takes place in such a way that the three teams from the 4th priority group open the process and are drawn with three teams from the 1st priority group. The remaining three teams from the 1st priority group will be assigned three teams from the 3rd priority group. The remaining two teams from the 3rd capacity group, along with the six teams from the 2nd priority group, including AEK, will enter the playoff final four pairs draw.

Champions League Qualification – Path of Champions

PRELIMINARY (4 TEAMS)

Strong (2 groups)

1. Budukhnost (Montenegro) 7,500
2. broad view (Iceland) 6,000

Powerless (2 groups)

1. three pennies (San Marino) 4,000
2. Athletic d’Escaldes (Andorra) 1,033

FIRST ROUND OF QUALIFICATION (30 TEAMS)

Strong (15 Teams)

1. Ferencvaros (Hungary) 27,000
2. Karabakh (Azerbaijan) 25,000
3. Slovak (Slovakia) 24,500
4. sheriff (Moldova) 19,500
5. BATE (Belarus) 15,000
6. Astana (Kazakhstan) 14,000
7. Maccabi Haifa (Israel) 13,000
8. Ludogorets (21,000) or CSKA Sofia (13,000) – Bulgarian champion
9. Zalgiris (Lithuania) 11,000
10. Helsinki (Finland) 11,000
11. flora (Estonia) 10,500
12. shamrock (Ireland) 9,000
13. The New Saints (Wales) 9,000
14. Olympia (Slovenia) 9,000
15. Zrinsky (Bosnia and Herzegovina) 8,500

Powerless (15 teams)

1. Lincoln Red Ibbs (Gibraltar) 8,500
2. Claxwick (Faroe Islands) 8,000
3. Preliminary Round Winner (7,500)
4. Dynamo Tbilisi (Agriculture) 7,500
5. Rakov (Poland) 5,000
6. partisan (Albania) 5,000
7. hedges (Sweden) 4,750
8. Farul (Romania) 4,100
9. Valmiera (Latvia) 3,500
10. Balkans (Kosovo) 3,000
11. larne (Northern Ireland) 3,000
12. Urartu (3,000) or Punic (8,000) – champion from Armenia
13. Hamrun Spartans (Malta) 2,500
14. Esperance (Luxembourg) 1,800
15. Struga (North Macedonia) 1,100

SECOND QUALIFICATION ROUND (20 teams)

Strong (10 groups)

1. dynamo (Croatian) 55,000
2. Copenhagen (Denmark) 40,500
3. Galatasaray (Turkey) 31,500
4. pair that includes Ferentsvaros (27,000)
5. A couple to which she belongs Karabakh (25,000)
6. pair that includes Slovak (24,500)
7. Molde (Norway) 24,000
8. pair that includes sheriff (19,500)
9. A couple to which she belongs COME IN (15,000)

powerless (10 groups)

1. pair that includes Maccabi Haifa (13,000)
2. pair that includes Zalgiris (11,000)
3. A couple to which she belongs Helsinki (11,000)
4. pair that includes flora (10,500)
5. pair that includes shamrock (9,000)
6. pair that includes The New Saints (9,000)
7. A couple to which she belongs Olympia (9,000)
8. pair that includes Zrinsky (8,500)
9. Mars (Cyprus) 4,895

Not clear

• A couple to which she belongs Astana (14,000)
• A couple to which she belongs champion Bulgaria (13.000-21.0.00)

THIRD ROUND OF QUALIFICATION (12 TEAMS)

Strong (6 groups)

1. A couple to which she belongs dynamo (55,000)
2. A couple to which she belongs Copenhagen (40,500)
3. pair that includes Galatasaray (31,500)

Powerless (6 teams)

1. pair that includes Molde (24,000)
2. Sparti (Czech Republic) 14,000
3. AEK (Greece) 11,000

Not clear

• 6 winners from the 2nd qualifying round

PLAYOFFS (8 TEAMS)

Strong (4 teams)

• young boys (Switzerland) 34,500

Powerless (4 groups)

• Antwerp (17,000) or Union (19,000) or Genk (18,000) – champion Belgium

Not clear

• + 6 winners from the 3rd qualifying round

Group stage (32 teams)

FIRST SKILL GROUP (8 GROUPS)

1. ticket holder Champions League
2. Seville (Spain) 91,000
3. Manchester City (England) ≥140,000
4. Barcelona (Spain) 98,000
5. Naples (Italy) 81,000
6. Bavaria (Germany) 136,000)
7. Paris (France) 112,000
8. Benfica (Portugal) 82,000

FIRST OR SECOND CAPACITY GROUP

• Inter (Italy) ≥96,000

FIRST OR THIRD POTENTIAL GROUP

• Feyenoord (Netherlands) 51,000

SECOND CAPACITY GROUP (8 GROUPS)

1. real (Spain) 121,000
2. Manchester United (England) 103,000
3. Dortmund (Germany) 86,000
4. Atlético (Spain) 85,000
5. Leipzig (Germany) 84,000
6. postage (Portugal) 81,000
7. arsenal (England) 76,000

SECOND OR THIRD POTENTIAL GROUP

• Shakhtar (Ukraine) 63,000

THIRD POTENTIAL GROUP (8 GROUPS)

1. Salzburg (Austria) 59,000
2. Milan (Italy) 50,000
3. Lazio (Italy) 42,000
4. Red Star (Serbia) 42,000

THIRD OR FOURTH POTENTIAL GROUP

• Real Sociedad (Spain) 33,000
• Celtic (Scotland) 31,000
• Newcastle (England) ≥21.628
• + 4 winners from the Champions Playoffs
• + 2 winners from the non-champions playoffs

FOURTH POTENTIAL GROUP (8 GROUPS)

1. Union (Germany) 17,000
2. lance (France) 12,232