Friday's UEFA Champions League third qualifying round draw threw up some intriguing ties but there is still work to be done for those in the second phase, with Debreceni VSC, HJK Helsinki and Rosenborg BK among those whose progress remains uncertain.
Four sides seemingly assured of moving ever closer to the group stage are Austrian champions FC Salzburg, Israeli counterparts Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC, NK Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia and Belarusian titleholders FC BATE Borisov. They all struck five in their first legs, meaning opponents HB Tórshavn, FK Željezničar, FC Koper and FH Hafnarfjördur have mountains to climb.
Debrecen from Hungary, group-stage participants last season, face another challenge if they are to meet FC Basel 1893 after a 1-1 draw with FC Levadia Tallinn in Estonia last week. HJK, contenders in 1998/99, must come from 1-0 behind against FK Ekranas of Lithuania when they return to Finland.
FK Partizan or FC Pyunik await the winners, the Serbians currently 3-1 to the good. Rosenborg, last in the competition proper five years ago, need to overcome Linfield FC following a goalless draw in Northern Ireland in order to book a third round tie with either AIK or AS La Jeunesse d'Esch, the Luxembourg outfit trailing 1-0.
Fifteen of the 17 opening instalments produced a winner, but six of the ties are separated by only a goal. Perhaps the most surprising of the first-leg victors were Birkirkara FC, who beat Slovakia's finest MŠK Žilina thanks to Nikola Vukanac's first-minute goal in Malta.
Joining Birkirkara, AIK and Ekranas with the slenderest of leads heading into Tuesday and Wednesday's returns are Lech Poznań, PFC Litex Lovech, and Bohemian FC, victors against FC İnter Bakı, FK Rudar Pljevlja, and The New Saints FC respectively. The third qualifying round ties will take place on 27/28 July and 3/4 August.
