Kes and tell

Kesla’s victory over Gabala in last night’s Azerbaijan Cup Final means that 46 of Cliftonville’s 47 potential Europa League First Qualifying Round opponents have now been confirmed.

The only outstanding issue is whether representatives from Hungary or Slovenia will assume the remaining Seeded berth and, though tomorrow’s Slovenian Cup Final may go some way towards determining the answer, things could well go down to the final day of the Hungarian season on Saturday – when no fewer than three teams (including the Reds’ 2014 Champions League foes Debrecen) will bid for European qualification.

The final blank spot among the Unseeded entrants will, meanwhile, be ratified by tomorrow evening’s Montenegrin Cup Final, where a shock win for Igalo would see the second tier side book their first ever continental excursion, however victory for strong favourites Mladost (who are already guaranteed a Euro place) would result in Grbalj making the grade.

As regular visitors to our dedicated Europa League guide will attest, the list of teams Cliftonville could face in the First Qualifying Round has been whittling down over the course of the past fortnight – and there’s just one more position left to be filled.

In a change to the original schedule, the First Qualifying Round draw will take place on Wednesday, June 20, and cliftonvillefc.net will continue to present the web’s most detailed guide to our full list of potential opponents on a daily basis.

Simply click here to run the rule over all confirmed qualifiers as well as sides across the continent who are still battling to secure their place, with supporters advised to make regular checks to this section, which will be periodically updated to reflect the latest standings, thus bringing a clearer picture as to the identity of the Reds’ next continental challengers.