Girondins de Bordeaux kick off their UEFA Europa League campaign away to Latvian side Ventspils in the second qualifying round on Thursday, 26 July.
In the UEFA Europa League's second qualifying round, the Girondins de Bordeaux will face off against the Latvians of FK Ventspils, with the first leg to be played on Thursday, 26 July in Latvia and the return leg at the Matmut Atlantique on 2 August. Ventspils progressed from the first qualifying round with a 3-3 away to Albanian side Luftëtari. As was the case in the first leg of that fixture, a 5-0 home win for Ventspils, Bordeaux's impending opponents had the cutting edge of Nigerian striker Adeleke Akinyemi - who bagged no fewer than six goals over two legs - to thank for their qualification.
After being knocked out in the third qualifying round of the competition last season, Bordeaux punched their ticket for a European return by surging to a sixth-placed finish in Ligue 1 Conforama.
Unbeaten in the pre-season
Already in the full swing of pre-season preparations for the impending 2018-19 season, Gustavo Poyet's side are coming off a friendly win over AS Saint-Etienne (2-1) that featured strikes from François Kamano and Aurélien Tchouaméni. Bordeaux have gone unbeaten in the three friendlies they have played so far this month, drawing 1-1 with Bernard Casoni's MC Alger and claiming a 1-0 win over Domino's Ligue 2 side Gazélec Ajaccio 1-0 thanks to Argentine forward Valentin Vada.
