Tottenham, Celtic and Rangers discover Europa League play-off round opponents

Jose Mourinho has been spared further travel in the Europa League after Tottenham Hotspur were paired with either Rostov Or Maccabi Haifa in the play-off round.

The Spurs boss is far from pleased with his side’s current jam-packed schedule, and saw his men labour to a 2-1 victory in Bulgaria over Lokomotiv Plovdiv in the second round on Thursday night.

That teed up a third qualifying round encounter in Macedonia against Shkëndija next week – less than 48 hours after their League Cup campaign kicks off.

But if Spurs successfully navigate their way past the Macedonians then they will be at home in the final knockout round before the group stages, having been spared a trip to either Russia or Israel.

If Celtic can make their way pat Latvian side Riga in the next round then Neil Lennon’s men will head to either Bosnia or Montenegro, after being paired with the winners of the tie between Sarajevo and Budućnost Podgorica.

Steven Gerrard’s Rangers, who meet Dutch side Willem II in their third qualifying round encounter, will face either Galatasaray or Hajduk Split at Ibrox in the play-off round.

Elsewhere, Motherwell will be at home to Viktoria Plzen or SønderjyskE, if they can beat Hapoel Be’er Sheva next Thursday, while Aberdeen will face either LASK or Dunajska Streda – provided they can navigate their way past Sporting Lisbon.

Ties for the play-off round take place on Thursday October 1, with extra time and a penalty shoot-out if required.

Winners advance to the UEFA Europa League group stage, where Premier League sides Leicester City and Arsenal will enter the competition.

Draw in Full

Champions Path

• Young Boys (SUI) vs Tirana (ALB)

• GNK Dinamo (CRO) vs Floriana (MLT) / Flora Tallinn (EST)

• Djurgården (SWE) / CFR Cluj (ROU) vs KuPS (FIN) / Sūduva (LTU)

• Ararat-Armenia (ARM) / Celje (SVN) vs Crvena zvezda (SRB)

• Dynamo Brest (BLR) vs Ludogorets (BUL)

• Sarajevo (BIH) / Budućnost Podgorica (MNE) vs Riga (LVA) / Celtic (SCO)

• Legia (POL) / Drita (KOS) vs Qarabağ (AZE)

• Sheriff (MDA) / Dundalk (IRL) vs KÍ (FRO) / Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO)

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Main Path

• Hapoel Be’er Sheva (ISR) / Motherwell (SCO) vs Viktoria Plzeň (CZE) / SønderjyskE (DEN)

• Rosenborg (NOR) / Alanyaspor (TUR) vs Mura (SVN) / PSV Eindhoven (NED)

• St. Gallen (SUI) / AEK Athens (GRE) vs Wolfsburg (GER) / Desna Chernihiv (UKR)

• Basel (SUI) vs Anorthosis (CYP) vs CSKA Sofia (BUL) / B36 (FRO)

• Sporting CP (POR) / Aberdeen (SCO) vs LASK (AUT) / Dunajská Streda (SVK)

• Charleroi (BEL) / Partizan (SRB) vs Apollon Limassol (CYP) / Lech (POL)

• Beşiktaş (TUR) / Rio Ave (POR) vs AC Milan (ITA) / Bodø/Glimt (NOR)

• Copenhagen (DEN) / Piast Gliwice (POL) vs Rijeka (CRO) / Kolos Kovalivka (UKR)

• Malmö (SWE) / Lokomotiva Zagreb (CRO) vs Granada (ESP) / Locomotive Tbilisi (GEO)

• Shkëndija (MKD) / Tottenham (ENG) vs Rostov (RUS) / Maccabi Haifa (ISR)

• FCSB (ROU) / Slovan Liberec (CZE) vs APOEL (CYP) / Zrinjski (BIH)

• Standard Liège (BEL) / Vojvodina (SRB) vs Fehérvár (HUN) / Reims (FRA)

• Willem II (NED) / Rangers (SCO) vs Galatasaray (TUR) / Hajduk Split (CRO

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