The draw for the third qualifying round of the Champions League has been announced. PSV takes on the Austrian Sturm Graz in a diptych. The first game will be played in Eindhoven on August 8 or 9, after which the return will take place in Austria on August 15.
PSV drew six opponents on Monday: Servette FC (Switzerland), Racing Genk (Belgium), Panathinaikos (Greece), FK Dnipro (Ukraine), Sturm Graz (Austria) and Backa Topola (Serbia). Sturm Graz has come out of the box. The Schwoazn came second in the Austrian Bundesliga, with which they entered the third preliminary round of the billion dollar ball, just like PSV.
PSV entered in exactly the same round last season. Then the team from Eindhoven eliminated AS Monaco in two duels. Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Rangers turned out to be a size too big in the play-off round. The Scots were 2-3 too strong in two games and steamed through to the group stage, where they met Ajax, among others.
The draw for the third qualifying round of the Europa League and the Conference League will also take place later on Monday. AZ, which enters the latter competition, then knows its opponent. FC Twente will also find out who it can hit. However, Joseph Oosting’s team still has to deal with the Swedish Hammarby IF in the second round.