Juventus meet Tampere United or Artmedia Bratislava

CL: Relief for Italian duo
Friday 1 August, 2008

Juventus meet Tampere United or Artmedia Bratislava and Fiorentina get Slavia Prague in a favourable Champions League third preliminary draw.

Italy’s third and fourth-placed representatives were seeded, but there were still some daunting sides in the other half of the draw.

Spanish titans Atletico Madrid and Turkish superpower Galatasaray were the teams to avoid and it was mission accomplished for the Italians.

The Juventus camp breathed a sigh of relief as the Bianconeri were paired with Finnish side Tampere United or Slovaks Artmedia Petrzalka.

Fiorentina will also be satisfied with their draw as they play Czech outfit Slavia Prague.

There were gasps as Atletico were paired with German side Schalke in the biggest game of the round and Galatasaray clash with Romanians Steaua Bucharest in an Eastern battle.

Barcelona meet Israeli side Beitar Jerusalem or Polish outfit Wisla Krakow, while Liverpool face Belgians Standard Liege.

Former England boss Steve McClaren will take on some familiar faces as his new side Twente drew Arsenal.

The first legs will be played on August 12 and 13 and the return matches will be on August 26 and 27.

The draw in full:
Anorthosis Famagusta / Rapid Vienna v Olympiacos
Vitoria v Goteborg / Basel
Shakhtar Donetsk v Domzale / Dinamo Zagreb
Schalke v Atletico Madrid
Aalborg / Modrica v Rangers / Kaunas
Barcelona v Beitar Jerusalem / Wisla Krakow
Levski Sofia v Anderlecht / BATE Borisov
Standard Liege v Liverpool
Inter Baku / Partizan v Fenerbahce / MTK Budapest
Twente v Arsenal
Spartak Moscow v Drogheda United / Dynamo Kiev
Brann / Ventspils v Marseille
Fiorentina v Slavia Prague