Dundalk FC will have their attention on two cup draws at 11am this morning.
The club will go into the hat for the next round of the FAI Cup having overcome Shelbourne back in May.
However, they are also in the Champions League draw and should they overcome BATE Borisov in Oriel Park on Wednesday night they could face one of the following sides in Group Two of the third qualifying stage:
- Hibernians FC (Malta) or Maccabi Tel-Aviv (Israel)
- Malmo FF (Sweden) or FK Zalgiris Vilnius (Lithuania)
- Molde FK (Norway) or FC Pyunik (Armenia)
- FC Midtjylland (Denmark) or Lincoln FC (Gibraltar)
- The New Saints (Wales) or Videoton FC (Hungary)
The five third qualifying round winners in the league route will join Manchester United, Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting CP and Lazio in the play-offs, the draw for which is on August 7th.
Five play-off winners from each route will go through to join the 22 teams already through to the group stage: Barcelona, Bayern München, Chelsea, Benfica, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Zenit, PSV Eindhoven, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Porto, Arsenal, Manchester City, Sevilla, Olympique Lyonnais, Dynamo Kyiv, Olympiacos, Galatasaray, AS Roma, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Wolfsburg and Gent.
Meanwhile, local Senator and well-known Dundalk fan Mary Moran has encouraged everyone to paint the town black and white ahead of Wednesday’s clash with BATE.
She said: “The team and fans did the town proud in Belarus. We now have a realistic chance to advance in the Champions League if we can secure a 1-0 minimum victory in Oriel next week.
“I think this is now is a great opportunity for everyone to get behind the team next week and would encourage businesses, shops and families alike to show their support by displaying black and white on their windows and premises.
“I am looking forward to an electric atmosphere in oriel next Wednesday night when I have no doubt the people of Dundalk will get behind the league champions and display a fantastic community spirit.”
