Plzeň is clear that in the last round of the Europa League, they will face Hearts of Scotland

If Pilsen beat the Ukrainian Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih in the 3rd preliminary round of the Europa League, they will play against the Scottish team Heart of Midlothian for participation in the main stage of the competition. If eliminated in the 3rd preliminary round of the Champions League by FCSB, Sparta would have to wait for LASK Linc for the regular season after being relegated in the last play-off. It was decided by a draw today at UEFA’s Swiss headquarters in Nyon.

The opening matches of the 4th preliminary round of the Europa League will take place on August 22, with the return matches scheduled for a week later. ​​​​​​Pilsen would start the double header at home, on the other hand, Sparta would present themselves away first. If the West Bohemians fail in the 3rd preliminary round against Kryvbas, they would move on to the final preliminary round of the Conference League, where they would expect to face a very strong Betis Sevilla. They would start at home.

In the morning before the draw, UEFA would traditionally divide the teams into groups and Pilsen stopped the selection of possible opponents. The West Bohemians, who were among the seeds, had a choice of four choices – three pairs and one fixed opponent.

Coach Miroslav Koubek’s men avoided the most difficult choice on paper in the form of the winner of the duel between Turkish Trabzonspor and Rapid Vienna. They stayed in their destiny until the last moment and finally got Hearts. The third team of the last season of the Scottish league will enter the qualification only in the 4th preliminary round, on the weekend in the opening round of the home competition they drew with strong Glasgow Rangers without a goal.

“Hearts” belong to traditional Scottish clubs. They were relegated from the top flight in the 2019/20 season, but returned to it a year later and have been at the top of the table recently. However, they are not doing very well in the cups, because in 2004 they only played at the group level once in the previous year in the Conference League.

The last time Hearts met the Czech club in UEFA competitions was in September 2006, when they came up short against Sparta in a doubleheader. Plzeň was the favorite even in a fight with the Scottish opposition to progress through Kryvbas.

The third team of the last season of the Czech league, due to the favorable development at the end of last year, as Slavia, enters the cup qualification only this week in the 3rd preliminary round. To get an autumn in the UEFA competitions, the West Bohemians must win at least one double match.

If Koubka’s men fail against Kryvbas, who will play the opening home game of the 3rd preliminary round on neutral ground in Košice due to Ukraine’s warring rivalry with Russia, they would have a difficult task in the final play-off for the Conference League. They would face favorites Betis Sevilla and, if they were to be eliminated, they would not be playing in the cups in the autumn. The seventh team of the last year of the main Spanish competition faced Sparta in the Europa League last season, winning 2:1 at home and losing 0:1 at Letná.

In the last two seasons, Viktoria did not lose the group stage of the cups, and this spring, they reached the quarter-finals of the Conference League. From the start of the season, the format is changing and the three UEFA club competitions will now be played as one league.

Draw for the 4th preliminary round of the Europa League (opening match on 22 August, second leg on 29 August):

Kryvbas Kryvyj Rih/Pilsen – Heart of Midlothian,

LASK Line – Sparta Prague/FCSB (Romanians),

Dinamo Minsk/Lincoln Red Imps (Gibr.) – Anderlecht Brussels,

Jagiellonia Bialystok/Bodö/Glimt – Panathinaikos Atény/Ajax Amsterdam,

Karabakh/Ludogorec Razgrad – Petrocub (Mold.)/New Saints (Wales),

Partizan Belgrade / Lugano – Beşiktaş,

Santa Coloma (Aug.)/RFS Riga – Slovan Bratislava/APOEL Nicosia,

Panevezys (Lithuania)/Maccabi Tel Aviv – Bačka Topola,

Malmö/PAOK Thessaloniki – Celje/Shamrock Rovers (Ir.),

Midtjylland/Ferencváros Budapešť – Klaksvík (Faroe Islands)/Banja Luka (Bosnia),

Molde (Nor.)/Cercle Bruggy – Rijeka/Elfsborg (Sweden),

Braga/Servette Geneva – Trabzonspor/Rapid Vienna.