Hoops handed tough Moscow test

17 July 2009 11:27
New boss Tony Mowbray will take charge of his first competitive match with the Hoops against Dynamo, who currently sit seventh in the Russian Premier League and finished third in the table in 2008. The two-legged tie will be played on July 28/29 and August 4/5, with the winners progressing to a play-off to enter the group stage. Dynamo, currently managed by Andrey Kobelev, boast a strong squad including experienced Russia internationals Dmitry Khokhlov, Aleksandr Kerzhakov and Denis Kolodin. Former Middlesbrough and Bristol City right-back Luke Wilkshire, a regular for Australia, is also in their ranks. Celtic will attempt to qualify for the group stage for the first time in four years after Rangers secured last year's SPL title on the final day. Elsewhere in the draw, which was held in Nyon, Steve McClaren's FC Twente were paired with Sporting Lisbon. Twente finished second in the Dutch Eredivisie last season and face a Sporting team that reached the last 16 of the Champions League last term, where they were hammered 12-1 on aggregate by Bayern Munich. Greek champions Olympiacos will tackle either Zrinjski or Slovan Bratislava. The Piraeus club failed to reach the group stage of last season's competition, suffering a surprising loss to Anorthosis Famagusta. However, they made it all the way to the last 16 of the 2007/08 edition before losing to Chelsea. Zrinjski, who are the Bosnian league winners, hold a 1-0 advantage over Slovan after the opening leg of their second qualifying round clash. Czech title-holders Slavia Prague will take on either Finnish side Inter Turku or Sheriff Tiraspol of Moldova. UEFA Cup holders Shakhtar Donetsk will enter Europe's elite club competition against Romanians Timisoara, with the Ukrainian side staging the opening leg. Shakhtar beat Werder Bremen in last year's UEFA Cup final, the last time the event was played under that name before becoming the Europa League. Panathinaikos take on regular Champions League participants Sparta Prague, while former UEFA Cup champions Anderlecht will host Sivasspor in the opening leg of their tie.

Source: Team_Talk