Arsenal and Liverpool may be seeded in the draw for the third qualifying round of the Champions League today, but Arsène Wenger and Rafael Benítez, their respective managers, will be keeping their fingers crossed. Danger lurks among the unseeded teams, with potentially awkward hurdles to overcome to reach the lucrative group stage of the competition.

Among the possible opponents whom Arsenal or Liverpool may prefer not to face are Atlético Madrid, of Spain, and Galatasaray, of Turkey. Sparta Prague, if they defeat Sheriff Tiraspol, the Moldovan side, in their second qualifying round tie, and Slavia Prague, their city rivals, could also provide difficult challenges.

Mind you, going on recent history, Wenger may view a trip to the Czech capital as one of the easier draws. In the third qualifying round last season, Arsenal defeated Sparta 5-0 on aggregate. Then, in group H, they trounced Slavia 7-0 at the Emirates Stadium before drawing 0-0 in Prague.

“There are quite a few teams that we would like to avoid,” Wenger said of today’s draw in Nyon, Switzerland. “That is why it is better not to look at it. We will just take who we get. We just have to improve now, to use the two \ tournaments we are playing in to get physically stronger and better.”

Despite the exodus of midfield players from the club this summer — Gilberto Silva, Alexander Hleb and Mathieu Flamini have moved on to Panathinaikos, Barcelona and AC Milan respectively — Arsenal’s pre-season programme has gone smoothly. They defeated VfB Stuttgart, for whom Jens Lehmann, the former Arsenal goalkeeper, featured, 3-1 in Germany on Wednesday night.

However, the players will have to step up several levels over the next two weeks. Arsenal take on Juventus tomorrow and Real Madrid on Sunday, both matches at the Emirates Stadium, and play Ajax next Friday and Seville the day after, both games in the Amsterdam ArenA.

An intriguing possibility for Wenger or Benítez is a head-to-head meeting with Steve McClaren, the former England head coach. McClaren is coach of FC Twente, the Dutch side, who qualified for the Champions League by beating Ajax in the Eredivisie play-offs last season.

Twente are among the unseeded teams, as well as Dynamo Kiev — if they successfully defend a 2-1 first-leg lead over Drogheda United, of Ireland — Partizan Belgrade and Dynamo Zagreb. McClaren has a decent European pedigree, having led Middlesbrough to the Uefa Cup final in 2006, when they were beaten 4-0 by Seville in Eindhoven.

“Just as I can learn from Twente, Twente can learn from me,” McClaren said. “I have a lot of European experience and that’s why I’m looking forward to the Champions League qualifying round.”

Liverpool faced a tricky first leg with Toulouse in the third qualifying round 12 months ago. After a 1-0 win in France, though, they cantered to a 4-0 victory in the second leg at Anfield to cruise through.

Rangers cannot meet Arsenal or Liverpool because they are also seeded. However, the Scottish side’s presence in the draw is uncertain. They drew 0-0 with FBK Kaunas in the first leg of their second qualifying round tie at Ibrox on Wednesday night and will need a marked improvement in the return in Lithuania next Tuesday.

Will seeds flourish?

Seeded teams: Liverpool, Barcelona (Sp), Arsenal, Schalke 04 (Ger), Juventus (It), Rangers or FBK Kaunas (Lith), Marseilles (Fr), Steaua Bucharest (Rom), Panathinaikos (Gr) or Dynamo Tbilisi (Geo), IFK Gothenburg (Swe) or FC Basle (Switz), Olympiacos (Gr), Fenerbahçe (Tur) or MTK Hungaria (Hun), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukr), Anderlecht (Bel) or BATE Borisov (Bela), Fiorentina (It), Spartak Moscow (Russ).

Unseeded teams: Atlético Madrid (Sp), Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova) or Sparta Prague (Cz), Drogheda United (Ire) or Dynamo Kiev (Ukr), Levski Sofia (Bul), Slavia Prague (Cz), Galatasaray (Tur), Inter Baku (Azerbaijan) or Partizan Belgrade (Serbia), Vitória Guimarães (Por), NK Domzale (Slovenia) or Dynamo Zagreb (Cro), Beitar Jerusalem (Isr) or Wisla Krakow (Pol), Standard Liège (Bel), FC Twente (Neth), Tampere United (Fin) or Artmedia Bratislava (Slovakia), AaB Aalborg (Den) or FK Modrica (Bosnia), SK Brann (Nor) or FK Ventspils (Lat), Anorthosis Famagusta (Cyp) or Rapid Vienna (Austria).

Television: British Eurosport from 11am.