Summer competition hots up

Hamburg tie
Hamburg's visitors on Saturday are FK Podeba, the F.Y.R. Macedonia representatives who struck two late goals at home to FK Smederevo of Serbia and Montenegro last week to prevail 3-1 on aggregate in front of the Bundesliga team's coach, Thomas Doll.

Eight absent
The German side, who suffered a late slump in form last season to miss out on an automatic UEFA Cup slot, will be depleted for the first leg. New signing Rafael van der Vaart, Daniel Van Buyten, Emile Mpenza, Khalid Boulahrouz, Raphaël Wicky, Mehdi Mahdavikia, Sergej Barbarez and Mišo Brecko are all rested after recent international commitments, although they will return for the second leg.

'Good side'
It is the first time Hamburg have met Macedonian opponents - and vice versa - but Doll, whose charges beat ASV Bergedorf 85 6-0 in a friendly on Wednesday, warned: "They have a good side and we won't make the mistake of underestimating them." The winners will play UD Leiria of Portugal for a place in the semi-finals. Also in action from the Bundesliga are 2003 finalists VfL Wolfsburg, taking on SK Sturm Graz of Austria.

Deportivo bow
RC Deportivo La Coruña, UEFA Champions League group stage entrants for the last five seasons, make their Intertoto Cup debut at home to FK Buducnost Podgorica. The Serbo-Montenegrin team drew 2-2 at home to Malta's Valletta FC last Saturday to complete a 7-2 overall win, having had their only previous European experience in the 1995 Intertoto Cup group stage.

St Etienne return
Buducnost had goalkeeper Miroslav Vujacinovic sent off 19 minutes into the second leg against Valetta, leaving him suspended at the Riazor. Deportivo's Primera División rivals Athletic Club Bilbao travel to Romania's CFR Cluj, with the winners facing either Neuchâtel Xamax FC of Switzerland or AS Saint-Etienne, the Ligue 1 outfit making their first European appearance since 1982 when they stage the first leg.

Record win
Also among Saturday's 12 games, another Romanian team, FC Gloria 1922 Bistrita, whose 11-0 win against Olympiakos Nicosia FC last week was an Intertoto Cup best and set a 16-0 aggregate-victory record, make the trip to Croatian side NK Slaven Koprivnica.

Sunday service
There are four matches on Sunday, including RC Lens of France hosting Poland's Lech Poznan and two-time Swedish UEFA Cup winners IFK Göteborg going to Hungary to play Lombard-Pápa TFC. Tampere United welcome Belgians R. Charleroi SC to Finland with the potential reward of a tie against S.S. Lazio, one of eight third-round entrants including Olympique de Marseille, BV Borussia Dortmund, Valencia CF and Newcastle United FC.

Draw for semi-finals and finals in Nyon on 11 July
Semi-finals played 27 July & 3 August
Finals played 9 & 23 August, winners enter UEFA Cup first round