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Uefa Conference League: Who are Larne’s league phase opponents?


Irish League trailblazers Larne did not have much time to bask in the immediate afterglow of their ground-breaking achievement of becoming the first club from Northern Ireland to qualify for the group or league phase of a major European competition.

Less than 24 hours later, they were thrust into the anticipation of Friday’s Uefa Conference League draw in Monaco.

In the event the Irish Premiership double champions were handed fixtures against Gent of Belgium, Norwegian side Molde, Olimpija Ljubljana of Slovenia, League of Ireland champions Shamrock Rovers, St Gallen of Switzerland and Dinamo Minsk of Belarus for their maiden voyage into the lucrative league stage.

The precise dates and kick-off times for the fixtures will be revealed on Saturday, with the east Antrim side playing their home matches at Windsor Park because their own Inver Park ground does not have the required minimum capacity as outlined by Uefa.

With the traditional group stage scrapped, this year’s 36-team competition sees each side play six matches against six different opponents in the league phase.

At the end of the six rounds of fixtures, the top eight will advance to the round of 16, with the teams ranked ninth to 24th contesting play-offs to complete the round of 16.

BBC Sport NI casts an eye over the opponents they will face in October, November and December.

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