Champions League third qualifying round draw: Lyon seeded, avoids Bodo/Glimt and Olympiakos

Published Jul 21, 10:01 AM UTC

Editorial responsibility

Prepared by: WorldAttention Editorial Systems
Human review: No named human review is recorded for this page.
Automated steps: Source reporting is collected, normalized, translated or condensed automatically when needed.
Page status: Automatically published source-backed update

How automation and AI are used · Report a correction or rights issue

Olympique Lyonnais, who finished fourth in Ligue 1 last season, must navigate two preliminary rounds to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. The draw for the third preliminary round is scheduled for Monday, July 20, 2026. As a seeded team in the League Path, Lyon avoids strong opponents like Bodo/Glimt, Olympiakos, and the winner of Fenerbahçe vs. Gornik Zabrze. Their potential opponents include Union Saint-Gilloise (Belgium), Sparta Prague (Czech Republic), NEC Nijmegen (Netherlands), or the winner of Sturm Graz vs. Hearts of Midlothian. The article also lists participants for both the Champions Path and League Path of the draw, detailing seeded and unseeded teams.

Source report

Olympique Lyonnais Set for Champions League Qualifying Campaign

Fourth in Ligue 1 last season, Olympique Lyonnais will need to navigate two preliminary rounds to secure a place in the Champions League group stage. The club's first potential opponent will be determined this Monday during the draw for the third preliminary round.

After several challenging seasons, Lyon regained momentum in the last campaign. Despite financial constraints, the Rhône-based club secured a strong fourth-place finish, earning a spot in the Champions League preliminary rounds. Lyon must now win two two-legged ties to return to a competition they last reached in the 2019/2020 season, when they advanced to the semi-finals.

Seeding and Potential Opponents

As a seeded team, Lyon avoids:

Bodo/Glimt (Norway)
Olympiakos (Greece)
The winner of Fenerbahçe (Turkey) vs. Gornik Zabrze (Poland) — a tie scheduled for tomorrow and Wednesday, July 29

Likely opponents for Olympique Lyonnais include:

Union Saint-Gilloise (Belgium)
Sparta Prague (Czech Republic)
NEC Nijmegen (Netherlands)
The winner of Sturm Graz (Austria) vs. Hearts of Midlothian (Scotland)

Third Preliminary Round Overview

Champions Path

| Seeded | Unseeded | |--------|----------| | Larne FC (Northern Ireland) or Red Star Belgrade (Serbia) | Ararat-Armenia (Armenia) or Shamrock Rovers (Ireland) | | FC Thun (Switzerland) or Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) | Sabah (Azerbaijan) or KuPS (Finland) | | Iberia (Georgia) or Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) | Vikingur Reykjavik (Iceland) or Hapoel Beer-Sheva (Israel) | | Aarhus (Denmark) or Lech Poznan (Poland) | Mjällby (Sweden) or Lincoln Red Imps (Gibraltar) | | Egnatia Rrogozhinë (Albania) or Celje (Slovenia) | Levski Sofia (Bulgaria) or Universitatea Craiova (Romania) | | Kairat Almaty (Kazakhstan) or Omonia Nicosia (Cyprus) | KI Klaksvik (Faroe Islands) or Kauno Zalgiris (Lithuania) |

League Path

Seeded:

Olympique Lyonnais (France)
Bodo/Glimt (Norway)
Olympiakos (Greece)
Fenerbahçe (Turkey) or Gornik Zabrze (Poland)

Unseeded:

Union Saint-Gilloise (Belgium)
Sparta Prague (Czech Republic)
Sturm Graz (Austria) or Hearts of Midlothian (Scotland)
NEC Nijmegen (Netherlands)

Published: 20/07/2026 11:55

Related topics: Champions League | Olympique Lyonnais

Content shown outside its original language is machine translated; summaries may also be condensed.

Source

Foot Mercato : Info Transferts Football - Actu Foot TransfertRegional

Original headline: Suivez le tirage au sort en direct du troisième tour préliminaire de la Ligue des Champions avec l’OL

Original language: FR

Part of this Story

Olympique Lyonnais Awaits Champions League Third Qualifying Round Draw

See the full Story: all sources and camp coverage

People and interests

France Champions League