Manchester City off to Faroe Islands

(CNN) -- Manchester City, under their new manager Mark Hughes, will make a low-key start to their UEFA Cup campaign this month, when they play the first leg of their first qualifying round tie away to EB/Streymur, of the Faroe Islands.

Their opponents' ground can accommodate just 1000 fans for the match, which is scheduled for July 17.

The second leg, a fortnight later, will take place at Barnsley's Oakwell ground, because the City of Manchester Stadium will not be ready to stage the match.

City's first visit to the Faroe Islands should provide them with a gentle introduction to the competition, which they won in 1970. They qualified this time through UEFA's Fair Play League.

Germans Hertha Berlin, who also earned a place in the tournament through the Fair Play rankings, are paired with Moldova's FC Nistru Otaci.

The 37 sides who win their way through the first qualifying round will be joined by 27 more - including the 11 UEFA Intertoto Cup winners - in the second qualifying round draw, which takes place in Nyon on 1 August.

Those 32 ties will be played on 14 and 28 August, with the winners joining 32 automatic entrants and the 16 teams eliminated from the Champions League third qualifying round, in the first round, which will decide the 40-group stage contenders

This season's UEFA Cup final will be held at the Sükrü Saraçoglu Stadium in Istanbul on 20 June 2009.

In the Champions League qualifying, Northern Ireland's Linfield must tackle Dinamo Zagreb in the first round.

The three-time Croatian champions recently sold international striker Luka Modric to Tottenham for $31.5 million. The first match will be at Windsor Park, Belfast

Dinamo put Ajax out of the UEFA Cup last season and will expect to emerge for a second round clash with either Domzale of Slovenia or Dudelange of Luxembourg.

Republic of Ireland outfit Drogheda will be having their first taste of the competition against Estonians Levadia.

There is a big prize on offer because the winners' second round opponents will be Dinamo Kiev, who met eventual winners Manchester United last season.

Scottish side Rangers, runners-up in the UEFA Cup last season, will also enter in the second round, with a tie against Santa Coloma (Andorra) or. Kaunas (Lithuania).

Last season's quarterfinalists Fenerbahçe open against MTK Budapest in the second round, whose two legs will be played on 29/30 July and 5/6 August.

They will be joined by the 14 clubs who battle through the 28-strong first qualifying round on 15/16 and 22/23 July.

This season's final will be played at Rome's Stadio Olimpico on 27 May 2009.