European football is entering the decisive phase of the battle for a place in the elite. On Tuesday, August 4, the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League officially begins. At this stage, 20 teams will fight for the right to advance, facing opponents ranging from prestigious clubs to debutants of the qualifying tournaments.
Who will play in the third round
A total of 10 pairs of opponents have entered the bracket for this stage. Among the participants, prestigious teams such as French club Lyon and Greek Olympiacos are already standing out. It is from this stage that representatives of the leagues: Nijmegen, Union Saint-Gilloise, Bodø/Glimt, Sparta (Prague), as well as the aforementioned Lyon and Olympiacos, will begin their journey in the tournament. Notably, six of the twenty teams will participate in the Champions League qualifiers for the first time.
Format and coefficient prize fund
The fate of each pair will be decided in a two-legged tie. The winners of the 10 duels will receive tickets to the fourth, play-off round of the Champions League qualification. The losing teams will not be left without European cups: they will either directly enter the group stage of the Europa League (for league path representatives) or continue the fight in the Europa League qualifying play-offs (for champions path representatives).
Participation in the tournament directly affects the ranking of clubs and countries. For a win, a team receives one point in the country coefficient table, for a draw — 0.5. In addition, all participants of the third qualifying round of the Champions League will receive 3.0 points in the club ranking.
Match schedule
The calendar for the third round has been approved: the first matches will take place on August 4 and 5, and the return matches will be held on August 11. Fans should pay close attention to the dates so as not to miss key events.
Broadcasts in Ukraine
For Ukrainian fans, the situation with watching matches has its own specifics. The official broadcaster of the Champions League in the country is the OTT service Megogo. However, the service will only start showing all matches of the tournament from the next, fourth qualifying round.
Unfortunately, it will not be possible to officially watch the matches of the third qualifying round of the Champions League in Ukraine. Nevertheless, some games will be broadcast on the Megogo service for viewers from other countries. These include the matches Levski — Kairat, Dinamo Zagreb — Kaunas Žalgiris, and Aarhus — Sabah.
