PARIS - Some of Europe's top clubs are on tenterhooks as they await the Champions League third qualifying round draw in Nyon, Switzerland, on Friday, with a €12m euro (pound sterling8.4m; $13m dollars) group stage prize at stake.
Ajax Amsterdam's fans celebrate at the Ajax Arena Park in Amsterdam on May 3, 2012
Thirteen teams have qualified for this stage of Europe's premier club competition via their league position, and they'll be joined by 17 others who are still going through the rigours of second round qualifying.
Four-time winners Ajax are the standout team in the draw and -- although the Dutch giants have failed to live up to the great Ajax sides of old -- the Amsterdam-based club remain a huge worldwide name.
The draw also boasts three sides who reached the knockout rounds of last year's competition -- French club Monaco, Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk and Swiss outfit Basel.
Monaco, third in France last season, upset English Premier League side Arsenal at the last-16 stage of the 2014/15 campaign, prevailing on away goals thanks largely to a magnificent 3-1 first-leg win at Emirates Stadium.
Basel, 18-time Swiss champions, progressed alongside Real Madrid in last season's group stages at the expense of Liverpool before being well beaten by FC Porto in the last 16.
Shakhtar, who reached the Champions League quarter-finals in 2011, have consistently been a thorn in the sides of some established European giants over the years, despite being thrashed 7-0 on aggregate by Bayern Munich in last season's round of 16.
Russian side CSKA Moscow were unfortunate to exit at last season's group stage after being thrown into a group with Bayern Munich, Manchester City and AS Roma.
Leonid Slutsky's side, quarter-finalists in 2010, will fancy their chances of qualifying once again.
Panathinaikos were regular visitors to the group stages in the 1990s and 2000s although their stock has gradually fallen in recent years -- they last qualified in the 2010/2011 season.
But perhaps the most intriguing, and unpredictable, side to predict are Turkish giants Fenerbahce.
After raiding Manchester United of Nani and Robin van Persie -- and possessing experienced European campaigners like Raul Meireles, Bruno Alves and Diego -- Vitor Pereira's men are potential dark horses.
A possible meeting with three-time winners Manchester United -- who enter in the play-off round -- provides a fascinating sub-plot should Fenerbahce make it -- and a swift return to Old Trafford for Nani and Van Persie.
Belgians Club Brugge, Swiss outfit Young Boys, Czech sides Sparta Prague and Viktoria Plzen, and Austrian pair Rapid Vienna and Salzburg are the other sides who have automatically qualified for the third qualifying round.
The Europa League third qualifying draw also takes place with some prestigious European teams in the hat.
Borussia Dortmund are the biggest name and the Bundesliga giants will be targeting silverware under new coach Thomas Tuchel, after a torrid domestic season last year which saw them bottom of the table at Christmas.
Spain's Athletic Bilbao -- runners-up in 2012 -- will be one to watch, alongside Italian side Sampdoria, French club Bordeaux and English Premier League outfit Southampton.