By Johnny Edward:
Five Nigerian players will be targeting places in the group stages of the UEFA Europa League after their teams were handed tough draws in the play-off on Friday.
Ezekiel Henty, who made his debut for Videoton FC in the third round qualifying round as they defeated French side Bordeaux 1-0 in the second leg to advance 2-2 on the away goals rule, will face Partizan Belgrade from Serbia.
Kayode Olanrewaju’s Austrian Wein will host Osijek’s who dumped out Dutch club PSV Eindhoven in the previous round while Alhaji Gero’s Ostersund will face PAOK Saloniki from Greece.
The pair of Rilwan Hassan and Paul Onuachu are expected to play massive roles for Midtjylland as they hope to advance to the group stages of the competition at the expense of Apollon from Cyprus.
Also, Everton have been drawn against Hadjuk Split while last season’s losing finalists Ajax will face Denmark’s Rosenborg with AC Milan drawing Shkendija.
The ties are played on 17 August and 24 August with 22 winners going into the group stage draw in Monaco on Friday 25 August, along with 16 automatic entrants and the 10 teams defeated in the UEFA Champions League play-offs.
ALL THE EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES
Apollon v Midtjylland
Ludogorets v Suduva
Dinamo Zagreb v Skenderbeu
Domzale v Marseille
PAOK v Ostersund
Viktoria Plzen v Larnaca
BATE Borisov v Olexandriya
Utrecht v Zenit
Legia v Sheriff
Altach v Maccabi Tel Aviv
Ajax v Rosenborg
Partizan v Videoton
Maritimo v Dynamo Kiev
Vardar v Fenerbahce
Vitorul v Salzburg
FH v Braga
Club Brugge v AEK Athens
Crvena Zvezda v Krasnador
EVERTON v Hajduk Split
Osijek v Austria Wien
Panathinaikos v Athletic Bilbao
Shkendija v AC Milan
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