AEK, Olympiacos, PAOK, Panathinaikos and OFI will all learn their opponents for the playoff round of Europe's club competitions on Monday, August 3. All three draws will be broadcast on Cosmote Sport 1.
The Champions League draw, which concerns champions AEK and Olympiacos, starts at 1 p.m. Olympiacos must first get past NEC Nijmegen to reach that stage. The Europa League draw for OFI and PAOK follows at 2 p.m., and the process closes at 3 p.m. with the Conference League draw, where Panathinaikos will learn its opponent if it eliminates CSKA 1948. PAOK will also find out, in that same draw, which team it would face if it is eliminated by Anderlecht.
AEK's Possible Champions League Opponents
AEK enters the draw as a seeded team, looking to take the final step before a place in the Champions League League Phase. Marko Nikolic's side advanced directly to the last qualifying round, and its placement among the seeded teams, confirmed after Lech Poznan's unexpected elimination by Aarhus, is reflected in odds that favor AEK.
The first playoff leg will be played on August 18 or 19, with the return leg on August 25 or 26. The order of matches is decided purely by the draw, not by seeding. If AEK's name is drawn first, it will host the first leg in Nea Filadelfeia and play the return away. If drawn second, the decisive second leg will be played at Allwyn Arena.
AEK's possible playoff opponents are:
- LASK
- Viking
- Celje or Ararat
- Kairat Almaty or Levski Sofia
- Aarhus or Sabah
Olympiacos's Possible Champions League Opponents
Olympiacos enters the draw as a pair with Nijmegen, whom it faces on August 4 at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium and again on August 11 away, in the third qualifying round.
If Olympiacos advances, it will face either the winner of Sparta Prague against Lyon, or the winner of Bodo/Glimt against Union Saint-Gilloise.
Panathinaikos's Possible Conference League Opponents
The Conference League playoff draw takes place in Nyon at 3 p.m. on Monday, with possible Greek representation from Panathinaikos and PAOK. Panathinaikos secures its place in the draw if it gets past CSKA 1948. PAOK would enter the Conference League playoffs if it is eliminated by Anderlecht in the Europa League's third qualifying round; if PAOK instead gets past Anderlecht, it would still need to clear the Europa League playoffs to reach that competition's League Phase.
Ahead of Monday's draw, Panathinaikos already learned its possible opponents, contingent on eliminating CSKA 1948 in the third qualifying round. The Europa League and Conference League playoff matches are scheduled for August 20 and 27.
Panathinaikos's sub-group is:
- Hapoel Tel Aviv vs Katowice
- Benfica vs Hearts*
- Hradec Kralove vs Besiktas*
- HJK Helsinki vs Motherwell
- Valur vs Nordsjaelland
The pairs marked with an asterisk are Europa League ties; Panathinaikos's opponent from those pairs would be whichever team is eliminated.
PAOK's Possible Europa League Opponents
PAOK will be among the seeded teams in the Europa League playoff draw. PAOK and Anderlecht enter Monday's process as a seeded pair, and the winner of their tie will learn its next opponent through this draw. The draw takes place at 2 p.m. in Nyon, Switzerland, and PAOK cannot be paired with fellow Greek side OFI, which will be among the unseeded teams.
Since Monday morning, the sub-groups from which PAOK's possible opponent will emerge are known. In the Europa League: Larne vs Iberia, Lillestrom, Levski Sofia vs Kairat Almaty*, and Mjallby vs Slovan Bratislava*. In the Conference League: Jablonec vs RFS Riga, Zalgiris vs Hajduk Split, Bran vs Apollon Limassol, Inter Turku vs Vaduz, and Noah vs Sion. Pairs marked with an asterisk indicate the opponent will be whichever team is eliminated from that tie. The first playoff leg for both the Europa League and Conference League will be played on August 20, with the return leg on August 27.
OFI's Possible Europa League Opponents
OFI's focus is on the Europa League draw at 2 p.m. on Monday, which will set its playoff-round opponent. The Cretan club will be placed among the unseeded teams. Anderlecht is not among OFI's possible opponents, since UEFA rules do not allow teams from the same country to meet at this stage of the competition.
On the morning of August 3, the pool of possible opponents narrowed as teams were placed into sub-groups. OFI plays on August 20 and 27 as it aims to qualify for the Europa League League Phase; if eliminated, it would instead play in the Conference League League Phase. OFI will learn later on Monday which pair's winner will be its opponent for entry into the League Phase.
OFI's sub-group is: Benfica vs Hearts, Maccabi Tel Aviv vs CSKA Sofia, Lech Poznan vs Klaksvik, and Hradec Kralove vs Besiktas.
