Shropshire Star

Wolves discover potential Europa League play-off round opponents

Wolves could face Italian side Torino in Europa League play-off round after the draw was made today.

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Nuno Espirito Santo's team were paired with either the Serie A side or Belarus outfit Shakhtyor Soligorsk.

Wolves will be away from home in the first leg, should they reach the play-off round.

First, Wolves must negotiate their third qualifying round tie against Armenian outfit Pyunik, with the first leg taking place in Armenia on Thursday. The return leg is at Molineux a week later.

The play-off round takes place on August 22 and 29.

Torino finished seventh in Serie A last season, which wasn't enough to qualify for the competition. However, they took AC Milan's place after Milan were banned for breaching financial fair play regulations.

They are managed by former Watford, Inter and Napoli boss Walter Mazzarri and stand-out players include Italy internationals Simone Zaza and Andrea Belotti.

Mazzarri's team beat Debrecen in the second qualifying round, winning 7-1 on aggregate. They play at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, which they shared with Juventus until 2011, with a capacity of 28,000.

Shakhtyor Soligorsk qualified for the competition after finishing runners-up in the 2018 Belarusian Premier League, the sixth time they've finished second in the past decade.

Shakhtyor are regulars in the Europa League qualifiers but never reached the group stage. They closest they came was in 2014 when they were beaten 3-0 on aggregate by PSV in the qualifying round.

They play at the 4,200 capacity Stroitel Stadium and beat Danish side Esbjerg 2-0 on aggregate in the second qualifying round.