FC Salzburg await winner of Hibs-FCI Tallinn UCL tie

Hibernians will take on Estonian champions FCI Tallinn in the first qualifying round of the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League after the draws of the preliminary stages of the UEFA competitions were made on Monday. In the Europa League, Floriana, the FA Trophy winners, were handed a very tough assignment on their return to European football as they were paired with Serbian side Crvena Zvezda (Red Star Belgrade) while Balzan, who finished second in the BOV Premier League last season, will be up against Hungary’s Videoton. Valletta have good reason to be pleased about the outcome of the draw at UEFA’s Nyon headquarters as they were drawn against Folgore, of San Marino. In the Champions League, Hibernians were not so lucky as FCI Tallinn were regarded among the strongest unseeded teams. Hibernians, who won their 12th championship last season, will play the first leg at their own stadium, on June 27 or June 28, with the match kicking off at 20.00. Match tickets cost €10 each. The winner of the Hibernians-FCI Tallinn tie will set up a clash with Austria’s FC Salzburg in the second qualifying round. In the Europa League, Valletta were drawn to play at home in the first leg, probably on Thursday, June 29, while Floriana and Balzan will be away for the initial leg on July 6. Crvena zvezda, Floriana’s Europa League opponents, eliminated Valletta in the second qualifying round of the Champions League last season. In the second qualifying round of the Europa League, the winner of the Videoton/Balzan will meet either Nomme Kalju FC (Estonia) or B36 Torshavn (Faroe Islands). The winner of the Crvena zvezda/Floriana tie will face Irtysh of Kazakhstan or PFC Dunav Ruse of Bulgaria whileDutch side Utrecht await the winner of the Valletta/Folgore match. The four Maltese clubs taking part in this season’s UEFA club competitions will play their home games at the Hibernians Stadium.