Ħamrun Spartans could be facing Hungary champions Ferencvaros while Gżira United could meet experienced side Viktoria Plzen of Czechia if they make it to the third round of the UEFA Europa Conference League.
The draws of the third round of this competition were held on Monday with three Maltese teams discovering their potential opponents of the next stage.
The Spartans, though, will have to cross swords with Georgia’s Dinamo Tbilisi first after slipping into Europe’s third-tier competition following their UEFA Champions League exit at the hands of Israel’s Maccabi Haifa.
The Georgian representatives also started their European journey in the Champions League but were dumped out by Astana of Kazakhstan.
Ferencvaros, on their part, suffered an embarrassing elimination in the Champions League after losing 3-0 at home to Faroese side KI Klaksivar in the first round.
They face Shamrock Rovers of the Republic of Ireland in the second round of this competition.
Gżira will face Luxembourg’s Dudelange in this week’s second round of the competition after their record penalty-shootout which allowed them to progress against Glentoran of Northern Ireland, last week.
If the Maroons eliminate Dudelange, they could take on Viktoria Plzen.
Last season, Viktoria Plzen were in the group stages of the Champions League together with Bayern Munich, Inter and Barcelona.
The Czech side face Drita of Kosovo this week as they commence their European journey in the second round.
Balzan, also involved in this week’s first legs of the second round, could also face a stern test should they progress.
Oliver Spiteri’s Balzan, who advanced at the expense of Slovenia’s NK Domzale with a 5-3 win on aggregate, could face Portugal’s Vitoria SC or another Slovenia representative in NK Celje.
First, though, the Reds must negotiate their qualification from the second round with Belarus’ Neman Grodno who advanced to this stage after eliminating Vaduz of Liechtenstein.
The two-legged third qualifying round ties will take place on August 10 and August 17.
