Rovers given Juve incentive

Europa League draw: Shamrock Rovers have a been given a massive incentive to battle their way past Bnei Yehuda of Tel Aviv after…

Europa League draw:Shamrock Rovers have a been given a massive incentive to battle their way past Bnei Yehuda of Tel Aviv after being drawn against Italian giants Juventus the third round of qualifying for the Europe League.

Robert Bayly's injury time equaliser at Tallaght Stadium last night leaves Rovers in with a shout ahead of the return leg in Israel, and there's no bigger reward for a win there than a lucrative tie against the Old Lady of Turin.

If they manage to get a win, Rovers will be at home first against Juve on July 29th.

Sporting Fingal will face either Welsh side Bangor City of Finnish outfit Honka Espoo (1-1 after first leg) if they can overturn a 3-2 deficit against Maritimo next week.

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Liverpool will play Macedonian side Rabotnicki or Mika of Armenia.

Rabotnicki lead 1-0 after the first leg of their tie against Mika this week.

Scottish Premier League side Hibernian were drawn against either Videoton of Hungary or Slovenia’s Maribor.

Videoton and Maribor drew 1-1 in the first leg of their tie.

The other Scottish side in the draw, Motherwell, will face Norwegian outfit Aalesund if they get past Icelandic league leaders Breidablik.

Craig Brown’s men claimed the upper hand in their tie with a 1-0 win last night.

Cliftonville, leading 1-0 against Cibalia, will face CSKA Sofia if they get through and Portadown will tackle Siquliai or Wisla Krakov if they overturn a 2-1 deficit against Qarabag.

Liverpool’s clash will be the first competitive test for new manager Roy Hodgson, who entered the competition at the same stage with Fulham last season and reached the final.

That remarkable run did much to secure the job as Rafael Benitez’s successor at Anfield position for the 62-year-old this summer.

Liverpool reached the semi-finals of the Europa League last season, having been eliminated from the Champions League, but were beaten by eventual winners Atletico Madrid.

This term they had to settle for a place in the Europa League qualifying rounds after finishing a disappointing seventh in the Barclays Premier League.

There is still some way to go before the group stages of the Europa League begin with the victors in the third qualifying round still having a play-off to negotiate.

It is at that stage the likes of Aston Villa, Manchester City and Dundee United enter the competition.