Bodø/Glimt, last season’s feel-good story in the Champions League, must get past Olympiakos or NEC Nijmegen in the qualifying playoffs round drawn Monday to return to the elite stage.
Bodø/Glimt faces Union Saint-Gilloise on Tuesday in the first leg of the third qualifying round, and the overall winner next week will then play the Greek league runner-up from last season or the third-place Dutch team making its Champions League debut.
From a Norwegian fishing town north of the Arctic Circle, Bodø/Glimt made a stellar run to the Champions League round of 16 in March after wins against Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and twice against Inter Milan.
Also paired Monday in the section for teams that did not win their domestic league, the winner between Fenerbahce and Sturm Graz will advance to the playoffs round against Sparta Prague or Lyon.
First-leg games are on Aug. 18 or 19 and return games are one week later.
Seven teams will advance from the qualifying rounds into the elite 36-team main phase draw to be made Aug. 27 in Monaco.
Celtic was paired with LASK of Austria in the qualifying section for national champions.
Red Star Belgrade, the European Cup winner in 1991, must first beat Hapoel Beer-Sheva to earn a playoff against AGF Aarhus or Sabah from Azerbaijan.-AP
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