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Aarhus or Lech Poznan reunion if KuPS pass Champions League test in Baku

KuPS met Lech Poznan in last season's UECL
KuPS met Lech Poznan in last season's UECLKazimierz Koper / Alamy / Profimedia

Finnish champions KuPS will be going to either Denmark or Poland in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League (UCL), should they progress past Sabah of Azerbaijan in the upcoming round.

KuPS held off North Macedonian side Vardar in the first qualifying round to set up home and away dates with Sabah. The Baku outfit will host the first leg of the second qualifying round tie on 21st July, before the sides head to Kuopio for the second leg on 29th July.

Following the draw made on 20th July, it is now known that the winner will face either Aarhus of Denmark or Lech Poznan of Poland in the third round of qualifying, with KuPS again scheduled to be away first on 4th/5th August before hosting on 11th August, should they progress.

Lech Poznan would be a familiar opponent for KuPS - the two faced each other in the Knockout Phase Playoffs of the UEFA Conference League last season, with the Polish side progressing 3-0 on aggregate.

Defeat to the Azerbaijan champions will mean dropping into the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League and a meeting with the loser of the UCL tie between Bulgaria's Levski Sofia and Universitatea Craiova of Romania.

In the UEFA Conference League, three Finnish sides are still in contention in the second qualifying round. HJK enter the action at this stage, and if they progress past Coleraine of Northern Ireland, they will meet Scotland's Motherwell or HB of the Faroe Islands.

Ilves will meet Rijeka from Croatia or Irish side Derry City if they get the better of Stjarnan over the next couple of weeks, while Inter Turku or Istanbul Basaksehir will take on Vaduz of Liechtenstein or Andorran side Atletic Club d'Escaldes in qualifying round three.

Second round ties are scheduled for 21-23 July and 28-30 July, with the third round to take place on 6th and 13th August.

Football