Friday 15 July 2016 12:17, UK
A trip to Wales or Azerbaijan could await West Ham in the Europa League third qualifying round, with the draw set to take place at 1pm on Friday.
The Hammers secured European football after finishing seventh in the Premier League, and will be looking to join Manchester United and Southampton in the group stage this season.
Slaven Bilic's side must progress beyond the third qualifying round and play-off stage to reach the groups, which start in mid-September.
The third round takes place on July 29 and August 4, while the first leg of the play-offs is on August 18, three days after West Ham begin their Premier League campaign against Chelsea.
This means one of the Europa League legs will be the first West Ham game to be played at the Olympic Stadium, with their friendly against Juventus scheduled for August 7.
How does the draw work?
Friday's draw in Nyon takes place just one day after the second qualifying round first leg, meaning the fixtures cannot be finalised until after the second-leg games on July 21.
The 33 winners from the second round will be joined by 25 sides, including West Ham, who officially enter qualifying at the third round stage.
The teams will then be split into five groups, all containing an equal number of seeded and unseeded teams.
The winners will then make the pot for the play-off stage, which will also feature 15 losers from the Champions League third qualifying round.
To Wales, Scotland, or Azerbaijan?
West Ham will be one of 29 seeds for the draw, which also features Danish side FC Midtjylland, who famously beat Man United 2-1 in their Europa League last-32 first leg in February.
Possible opponents for the Hammers include the unseeded Scottish trio of Hibernian, Hearts and Aberdeen, who are also featuring in the second round.
Meanwhile, Welsh Premier League outfit Connah's Quay must overcome Serbian side Vojvodina to reach the third round in their first ever season in Europe.
Further from home, three Azerbaijani teams - Neftçi PFK, Käpäz and Gabala - are all unseeded, meaning West Ham could clock up some serious air miles before their league campaign begins.
Gabala, who were once managed by Arsenal legend Tony Adams, finished bottom in a Europa League group last season which featured Borussia Dortmund.
Other potential opponents for the Hammers include Swiss side Grasshoppers and Greek club AEK Athens.
Hammers beware
West Ham will be sure not to underestimate any challenge, having fallen 4-3 on aggregate to Romanian side Astra Giurgiu in the third qualifying round last season.
The Hammers led 2-0 in their first leg at home last year, but slipped to a 2-2 draw before losing the return leg 2-1 in Romania.
That defeat came as Bilic was just getting started as West Ham manager, but after a successful season at the helm, fans will be hoping the Croatian can guide them on a Europa League journey running long into 2017.
