Pafos FC drawn against Hearts, Atalanta and four others in Conference League league phase

Paphos, Cyprus. Pafos FC will host Scottish side Heart of Midlothian and travel to Italy to face Atalanta in the Conference League league phase, following Friday’s draw.

The Cypriot club will play three home matches and three away matches during the league phase.

League phase fixtures

Pafos FC will host Hearts, Danish side Midtjylland and Latvian champions Riga FC at Limassol’s Alphamega Stadium.

Away from home, they will face Atalanta in Italy, FC Twente in the Netherlands and Swedish champions Mjallby.

Opponents

Hearts lost 3-1 to Celtic at Parkhead on the final day of last season, missing out on the Scottish Premiership title as Celtic overtook them.

Since then, Rangers have signed Hearts manager Derek McInnes and top scorer Lawrence Shankland. Rangers were eliminated from Conference League qualifying by Czech side Jablonec on penalties on Thursday night.

Atalanta finished seventh in last season’s Serie A and won the Europa League in 2024. Their manager, Maurizio Sarri, won the same competition with Chelsea in 2019.

Midtjylland finished second in last season’s Danish Superliga, while Riga FC, like Pafos FC, were founded in 2014.

FC Twente finished fourth in last season’s Eredivisie. Their squad includes Wout Weghorst and Lucas Vennegoor of Hesselink, the son of former Celtic player Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.

Mjallby, from the Baltic coastal village of Hallevik, won the Swedish title for the first time last year. The club are making their European debut this season and have Ali Youssef, on loan from Apollon Limassol, in their squad.