APOEL and Anorthosis are among forty-three clubs that begin their continental campaigns in the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round this evening.
Ivan Jovanovic’s APOEL made more than a few headlines across Europe last season by going from the equivalent stage of Champions League qualifying all the way to the quarter finals, defeating the likes of Porto, Zenit St Petersburg and Lyon on the way.
Less than four months after scoring twice against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, the Nicosia side return to action with a home first leg against Slovakia’s FK Senica.
The only time APOEL have previously faced a Slovakian side in Europe was last season in the second qualifying round of the Champions League when they eliminated Slovan Bratislava 2-0 on aggregate.
The first leg in Nicosia ended goalless, but the Cypriot outfit then recorded a 2-0 victory at the Pasienky Stadium in Bratislava to progress.
Polish referee Pawel Gil has been assigned to officiate the game that will kick-off at 8pm at the GSP Stadium in the Cypriot capital.
Takis Antoniou, a member of APOEL’s board of directors, said the club can’t afford to rest on its laurels ahead of the clash with Senica.
“We cannot look back on past successes. Our players now have new goals ahead of them and they will try to reach them.
“This is surely the most important game of the season and we will be looking for a result that will give us an advantage ahead of the return leg.
“This will require a great effort and we have to be at our best. In the last few years we managed to go through the qualifiers, but this is not a guarantee that we will do it again and for this reason we have to treat our opponents with the utmost respect.”
Anorthosis meanwhile will commence their European journey in the Estonian capital Tallinn where they will take on Levadia at the Kadriorg Stadium, with the kick off scheduled for 6.45pm.
The Larnaca side has never previously faced opposition from Estonia, while Levadia’s best result on the European stage was advancement into the first round of the UEFA Cup in 2006/07 when they were eliminated by Newcastle United, after previously knocking out Haka of Finland and Dutch side Twente in the qualifiers.
Cyprus national cup winners Omonia will join the Europa League in the third qualifying round.
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