UEFA Champions League: Valletta to travel to Azerbaijan

FK_KarabakhValletta will be travelling to Azerbaijan after they were drawn with Qarabağ FK in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. The draws were held in Nyon on Monday.

The first leg is scheduled in Malta for 15/16 July with the second leg due to be played in Azerbaijan on 22/23 July.

Qarabağ Ağdam FK were founding members of Azerbaijan Premier League in 1992 and won their first league championship a season later. The club was the first non-Baku based club to have won the Azerbaijan Premier League title. Qarabağ is one of the two teams in Azerbaijan, along with Neftchi Baku which has participated in all Azerbaijan Premier League championships so far.

In 2014, the club won the Premier League, their first league title for 21 years. Qarabağ have won the Premier league title twice, and the Azerbaijan Cup three times.

They won the Premyer Liqa last season after claiming 72 points from 36 matches, five ahead of runners-up Inter Baku.

In Europe, Qarabağ FK managed to reach the play-offs before the group stage in the UEFA Europa League on three occasions – in 2009/10 they eliminated Roseborg and Honka but lost to Twente, in 2010/1, they eliminated FK Metalurg, Portadown and Wisla Krakow but lost to Borussia Dortmund and last season, when they eliminated FK Metalurg, Piast Gliwice and Gefle IF before losing to Eintracht Frankfurt.

Valletta, on the other hand, are still hoping to become the first Maltese club to reach the third qualifying round of a UEFA competition. They qualified for a second round in the UEFA Champions League in 1999 after eliminating Barry Town of Wales, the UEFA Europa League in 2009 after eliminating Keflavik of Iceland, the UEFA Champions League in 2011 after elminating Tre Fiori of San Marino, the UEFA Champions League in 2012 after eliminating Lusitanos of Andorra and the UEFA Europa League last season after eliminating La Fiorita of San Marino.

This is the second time, a club from Malta and the Azerbaijan were paired together after Khazar Lankaran eliminated Sliema Wanderers in the UEFA Europa League with a 2-1 aggregate score last summer.

First qualifying round (1/2 and 8/9 July)
FC Santa Coloma (AND) v FC Banants (ARM)
Lincoln FC (GIB) v HB Tórshavn (FRO)
SP La Fiorita (SMR) v FC Levadia Tallinn (EST)

Second qualifying round (15/16 and 22/23 July)
FC BATE Borisov (BLR) v KS Skënderbeu (ALB)
Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC (ISR) v FC Santa Coloma (ARM)/FC Banants (ARM)
FC Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO) v FK Aktobe (KAZ)
HŠK Zrinjski (BIH) v NK Maribor (SVN)
FC Sheriff (MDA) v FK Sutjeska (MNE)
AC Sparta Praha (CZE) v SP La Fiorita (SMR)/FC Levadia Tallinn (EST)
Malmö FF (SWE) v FK Ventspils (LVA)
ŠK Slovan Bratislava (SVK) v The New Saints FC (WAL)
Celtic FC (SCO) v KR Reykjavík (ISL)
Cliftonville FC (NIR) v Debreceni VSC (HUN)
FK Partizan (SRB) v Lincoln FC (GIB)/HB Tórshavn (FRO)
Legia Warszawa (POL) v Saint Patrick’s Athletic (IRL)
FK Rabotnicki (MKD) v HJK Helsinki (FIN)
GNK Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) v VMFD Žalgiris (LTU)
PFC Ludogorets Razgrad (BUL) v F91 Dudelange (LUX)
Valletta FC (MLT) v Qarabağ FK (AZE)
Strømsgodset IF (NOR) v FC Steaua Bucureşti (ROU)