Nicholas Mendola, NBC Sports
The Europa League’s second qualifying round draw has given four minnows of the world the chance to knock off some of the bigger names in the history of the game.
Drawn Monday, the single-legged affairs will be staged Sept. 17 around Europe.
Former Mainz player Bruno Akrapovic will try to lead Bulgarian side Lokomotiv Plovdiv to a historic upset of Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur.
Steven Gerrard will lead Glasgow Rangers into Gibraltar to face the Lincoln Red Imps, who notably held a first leg lead over Celtic in the second qualifying round of the 2016-17 UEFA Champions League.
American center back John Brooks and Wolfsburg meet Albanian side Kukes, whose most notable opponents of the past decade were Austria Wien or Legia Warsaw in the same competition.
And it’s difficult to find a more intriguing tie than Zlatan Ibrahimovic and AC Milan heading to Ireland to face Shamrock Rovers, who boast ex-Man City prospect Jack Byrne and former Burnley man Daniel Lafferty.
The prospects of an upset amongst the three are very low,
Champions Path
Inter Escaldes (Andorra) vs. Dundalk (Ireland)
KuPS (Finland) vs. Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia)
Linfield (Northern Ireland) vs. Floriana (Malta)
Riga (Latvia) vs. Tre Fiori (San Marino)
Djurgarden (Sweden) vs. Europa (Gibraltar)
Flora Tallinn (Estonia) vs. KR Reykjavik (Iceland)
Sileks (North Macedonia) vs. Drita (Kosovo)
Astana (Kazakhstan) vs. Buducnost Podgorica (Montenegro)
Ararat-Armenia (Armenia) vs. Fola Esch (Luxembourg)
Connah’s Quay Nomads (Wales) vs. Dinamo Tbilisi (Georgia)
Main path
Lincoln Red Imps (Gibraltar) vs. Rangers (Scotland)
Kukes (Albania) vs. Wolfsburg (Germany)
Shamrock Rovers (Ireland) vs. AC Milan (Italy)
Hammarby (Sweden) vs. Lech Poznan (Poland)
Kaysar Kyzylorda (Kazakhstan) vs. APOEL (Cyprus)
Nomme Kalju (Estonia) or Mura (Slovenia) vs. AGF Aarhus (Denmark)
Maccabi Haifa (Israel) or Zeljeznicar (Bosnia-Herzegovina) vs. Kairat Almaty (Kazakhstan)
Locomotive Tbilisi (Georgia) vs. Dynamo Moscow (Russia)
Neftci (Azerbaijan) vs. Galatasaray (Turkey)
B36 Torshavn (Faeroe Islands) vs. TNS (Wales)
Coleraine (Northern Ireland) vs. Motherwell (Scotland)
IFK Gothenburg (Sweden) vs. Copenhagen (Denmark)
Backa Topola (Serbia) vs. FCSB (Romania)
Teuta (Albania) vs. Granada (Spain)
OFI Crete (Greece) vs. Apollon Limassol (Cyprus)
Progres Niederkorn (Luxemburg) vs. Willem II (Netherlands)
Viking (Norway) vs. Aberdeen (Scotland)
Bala (Wales) vs. Standard Liege (Belgium)
Sfintul Gheorghe Suruceni (North Macedonia) vs. Partizan (Serbia)
CSKA Sofia (Bulgaria) vs. BATE Borisov (Belarus)
Botosani (Romania) vs. Shkendija (North Macedonia)
Laci (Albania) vs. Hapoel Beer-Sheva (Israel)
Aris Thessaloniki (Greece) vs. Kolos Kovalivka (Ukraine)
Honved (Hungary) vs. Malmo (Sweden)
Ventspils (Latvia) vs. Rosenborg (Norway)
Riteriai (Lithuania) vs. Slovan Liberec (Czech Republic)
Servette (Switzerland) vs Reims (France)
Borac Banja Luka (Bosnia-Herzegovina) vs. Rio Ave (Portugal)
Renova (North Macedonia) vs. Hajduk Split (Croatia)
Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia) vs. Zrinjski (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
Dunajska Streda (Slovakia) vs. Jablonec (Czech Republic)
Piast Gliwice (Poland) vs. Hartberg (Austria)
Osijek (Croatia) vs. Basel (Switzerland)
Hibernians (Malta) vs. Fehervar (Hungary)
Bodo/Glimt (Norway) vs. Zalgiris Vilnius (Lithuania)
Europa League qualifying draw: Tottenham, Milan, Wolfsburg learn foes originally appeared on NBCSports.com
