Just over two months after lifting the Gibson Cup for a record 56th time Linfield are back in Champions League action.

The Blues travel to Shropshire to take on Welsh champions The New Saints, their first competitive clash against a side from that part of the British Isles.

Better known as TNS, the Oswestry-based side are no strangers to clubs from these shores and, indeed, have played both Cliftonville and Larne in the last couple of weeks as part of their own preparations for the tie.

Also, as recently as last season, they knocked Glentoran out of the inaugural Europa Conference League following a draw at The Oval and a 2-0 win back on home turf. They also accounted for Cliftonville in the Europa League a decade prior to that.

The dominant side in Wales in recent years, TNS have finished in the top two of the Cymru Premier for all bar one of the last 21 seasons and, for a spell in the last decade, lifted the title on eight consecutive occasions as well as securing five league and cup doubles during that run.

Linfield's warm-up included a training camp in Marbella - which produced a 1-0 victory over the Qatari national team - in addition to a draw with Newtown AFC and a defeat to St. Mirren at the weekend.

Manager David Healy has brought in Joel Cooper from Oxford United, Daniel Finlayson on loan from St. Mirren and former Glentoran striker Robbie McDaid as well as securing the services of Chris McKee on a permanent basis and the return of Eetu Vertainen.

Tonight's game at Park Hall kicks off at 7pm, with the return at Windsor Park scheduled for next Wednesday, kick-off 7:45pm.

The aggregate winners will face the either Bodo Glint (Norway) or Kl Klaksvik (Faroe Islands) in the next round while the losers drop into the Conference League to take on the loser of the Malmö FF (Sweden) and Vikingur (Iceland) tie.