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Celtic could face either Maccabi Tel-Aviv or CFR Cluj in Champions League qualifier

The Celtic team celebrate winning the Scottish Premiership title last season.
Image: Celtic celebrate winning the Scottish Premiership title last season

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.

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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.

Ajax line up ahead of their Champions League semi-final, second leg against Tottenham Hotspur in Amsterdam
Image: Ajax reached the Champions League semi-final last season where they lost against Tottenham

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)

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