Celtic could face either Maccabi Tel-Aviv or CFR Cluj in Champions League qualifier
By Blake Welton
Last Updated: 22/07/19 2:55pm
Celtic will face either Israeli side Maccabi Tel-Aviv or Romania's CFR Cluj in the Champions League third qualifying round should they overcome Estonian side Nomme Kalju.
Neil Lennon's side face Kalju in the first leg of their tie at Parkhead on Wednesday, as Cluj host Maccabi.
Romanian champions Cluj are managed by former Chelsea defender Dan Petrescu, while Maccabi won the Israeli Premier League for a 22nd time last term - their first since 2015.
Meanwhile, four-time European champions Ajax start their campaign against unbeaten Greek league winners PAOK Thessaloniki while Porto are paired with Krasnodar in a separate qualifying path for teams that placed second or third in higher-ranked leagues.
Last season, Ajax reached the semi-finals of the Champions League having entered the competition in the second preliminary round in July.
As the Dutch league winners, they now start one qualifying round later, needing to beat two opponents instead of three to reach the group stages.
Elsewhere, Dynamo Kiev will face Club Brugge, and LASK will take on either PSV Eindhoven - the 1988 European champions - or Basel.
The second qualifying round is played through July 31 and the next round will begin on August 6-7, with return legs on August 13.
Third Qualifying Round Draw
Champions path
CFR Cluj (Romania) or Maccabi Tel-Aviv (Israel) vs Celtic (Scotland) or Nomme Kalju (Estonia)
Sutjeska (Montenegro) or APOEL (Cyprus) vs Dundalk (Ireland) or Qarabag (Azerbaijan)
PAOK Thessaloniki (Greece) vs Ajax (Netherlands)
Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) or Saburtalo (Georgia) vs Ferencvaros (Hungary) or Valletta (Malta)
Red Star Belgrade (Serbia) or HJK Helsinki (Finland) vs Copenhagen (Denmark) or The New Saints (Wales)
Maribor (Slovenia) or AIK (Sweden) vs BATE Borisov (Belarus) or Rosenborg (Norway)
League path
Istanbul Basaksehir (Turkey) vs Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic) or Olympiakos (Greece)
Krasnodar (Russia) vs Porto (Portugal)
Club Brugge (Belgium) vs Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine)
PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands) or Basel (Switzerland) vs LASK (Austria)
