NYON: Celtic were handed a trip to face either Riga FC of Latvia or Tre Fiori of San Marino in the draw for the third qualifying round of the Europa League made on Tuesday.

The Scottish champions dropped into the Europa League after being dumped out of the Champions League by Hungarian side Ferencvaros in the second qualifying round last week.

Neil Lennon’s side will be fully expected to advance to the play-off round against Riga or Tre Fiori, two sides who had themselves already dropped out of the Champions League qualifiers.

The tie will be played on September 24, with all qualifiers currently being staged behind closed doors and as single-leg ties, rather than on a home and away basis, because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur will go back to the Balkans if they get the better of Bulgaria’s Lokomotiv Plovdiv in the second qualifying round.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2020