Everton to play Hajduk Split in Europa League play-off

Everton have been drawn against Croatian side Hajduk Split in the Europa League play-off round.

The first leg will be at Goodison Park on Thursday August 17 with the second leg at Stadion Poljud a week later on August 24.

That means Everton’s game against champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge will now be pushed back 24 hours to Sunday August 27.

The Toffees are back in Europe after a three-year absence and reached this stage courtesy of a 2-0 aggregate win over MFK Ruzomberok in the third qualifying round.

It wasn’t always pretty against the Slovakian side but given Everton are still in pre-season it should be considered a professional job well done.

The Premier League season will be underway by the time the next European game comes around, meaning the players should be much closer to full match fitness.

Hajduk Split reached this stage courtesy of a 2-0 aggregate win against Danish side Brondby.

The last time Everton played in the Europa League play-off was in 2009 when the Toffees were paired against Czech side Sigma Olomouc.

Everton won the first leg at Goodison Park 4-0 before drawing the away leg 1-1 to seal a comfortable 5-1 aggregate victory.