Who can Czech teams face in the next cup round? The first clues are outlined

Who can Prague’s “S” and other Czech teams face in the European Cup? If Sparta were to advance past a strong Monaco, they would have the best chance of making the play-offs. The other Czech teams have relatively many options before the draw.

So let’s start with the easiest one. If Sparta get through Monaco, they will face one of the winners of Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Genk, Benfica vs. Spartak Moscow in the Champions League playoffs.

For a Czech fan, a spicy duel against Spartak Moscow, where ex-Slav player Alex Král is based, would be a great match. But the favourite to advance is of course Portugal’s Benfica.

Even Prague Slavia may not be short of spice if they advance over Ferencváros. The possibility of a replay of the shattering match with Scottish Rangers is still in the possible pool.

The following possibilities await in the Champions League play-offs: Brøndby or the winners of Young Boys vs. Cluj, CZ Belgrade vs. Tiraspol and Rangers vs. Malmö.

Jablonec already knows its opponent in the 3rd round of the Europa League – Scottish Celtic. If Jablonec were to get past the favored team, it would face one of the following opponents in the next round of the Europa League playoffs: Alkmaar, Fenerbahce, Luhansk, Antwerp, Sturm Graz or Randers.

Pilsen knows its rival for the 3rd round of the Conference League, the Welsh side The New Saints. In case Jablonec fails to qualify for the Europa League and Viktoria Plzen qualifies for the Conference League final round, both Czech teams will be seeded in the play-offs, Jablonec thanks to Celtic’s coefficient.

There are 17 possible opponents, so UEFA will split the draw into smaller groups as in previous preliminary rounds. The toughest opponents could include Union Berlin, Rubin Kazan or Sivasspor.

Interestingly, due to possible successes and failures, Czech clubs will be represented in Monday’s draw six times, Slavia and Jablonec twice, Sparta and Plzen once.

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