Intertoto sides vie to be lucky 13

FK Vėtra have already booked their place in the third and final round of the UEFA Intertoto Cup but there are 13 places still to fill and it promises to be an absorbing weekend as clubs the length of Europe look to keep UEFA Cup ambitions alive.

Trabzonspor joy
Leading 2-0 during the first leg, Lithuanian side Vėtra are through after Legia Warszawa were expelled from the competition following crowd trouble that caused the game to be abandoned at half-time. It means they are assured a place in the next round against Blackburn Rovers FC. Elsewhere, Trabzonspor and PFC Cherno More Varna can justify booking flights for the third round having won their respective first legs 6-0 and 4-0 but the remaining eleven ties remain wide open.

Honka hopes
Four, in fact, are level-pegging after the first encounters last weekend, including the match between FC Honka Espoo and Aalborg BK. The Finnish team, who held AaB 2-2 at home last Sunday, are looking to further extend their maiden European campaign which began with a first-round win over FC TVMK Tallinn. Should they continue their fine form Honka could book a third-round fixture against either KAA Gent or Cliftonville FC, with the Belgian side taking a two-goal advantage to Belfast.

Big guns await
AFC Gloria 1922 Bistrita, SK Rapid Wien, FC Chornomorets Odesa and NK Maribor also hold two-goal advantages, while FC St. Gallen take a 1-0 lead into their home leg against FC Dacia Chisinau with Hamburger SV awaiting the victors. FC Utrecht, meanwhile, are next on the agenda for the winners of the tie between Cork City FC and Hammarby. An own goal gave the Swedish side a potentially significant away goal when their first-leg match finished 1-1, and FC Slovan Liberec are in an identical position going into their home fixture against FC Tobol Kostanay. Finally, after holding FK Slavija Sarajevo 0-0 last week, FC Otelul Galati will look to finish the job on home soil in in Romania.