CL & EL play-off draws: Prague may await Celtic as Wolves face prospect of tough Torino tie
The Champions League and Europa League play-off rounds have been determined in Switzerland this morning as preparations for the 2019/20 season cranks up a notch.
For the continent’s Blue Riband tournament, the third qualifying round is yet to be contested, but the likes of Celtic, Ajax and Porto will now know who awaits them should they progress past this stage of the competition.
CL & EL play-off fixtures: Five key matches…
- CFR Cluj (ROU) or Celtic (SCO) vs SK Slavia Prague (CZE)
- APOEL (CYP) or Qarabag (AZE) vs PAOK (GRE) or Ajax (NED)
- Torino or Shakhtyor Soligursk vs Pyunik or Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Legia Warsaw or Atromitos vs Midtjylland or Rangers
- Rijeka or Aberdeen vs AEK Larnaca or Gent
https://audioboom.com/posts/7330203-it-s-easy-to-get-backwards-but-liverpool-s-dependence-on-their-front-three-isn-t-a-weakness
Neil Lennon’s side face CFR Cluj in the third qualifying stage after comfortably easing past Nomme Kalju the round prior, taking on the Romanian on Wednesday before welcoming the Railwaymen to Parkhead for the return fixture next Tuesday.
Last season’s semi-finalists Ajax must first navigate their way past PAOK across two legs before contesting in the final round to reach the Champions League group phases, while Porto – a quarter-finalist last term – will also look to negotiate a route past Krasnodar.
With that considered, who will these sides tee off against should third round progression materialise? Read on for the CL play-off draw…
Champions Path (for league champions)
GNK Dinamo (CRO) or Ferencvaros (HUN) vs Maribor (SVN) or Rosenborg (NOR)
CFR Cluj (ROU) or Celtic (SCO) vs SK Slavia Prague (CZE)
Young Boys (SUI) vs Crvena zvezda (SRB) or Kobenhavn (DEN)
APOEL (CYP) or Qarabag (AZE) vs PAOK (GRE) or Ajax (NED)
League Path (for league non-champions)
Basel (SUI) or LASK (AUT) vs Club Brugge (BEL) or Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)
Istanbul Basaksehir (TUR) or Olympiacos (GRE) vs Krasnodar (RUS) or Porto (POR)
Subscribe to Squawka’s Youtube channel here.
The first leg of play-off matches will be contested on August 20/21 while the second leg will take place a week later on August 27/28.
EL play-off draw
The Europa League play-off round has also been determined, with the likes of Celtic and Ajax finding out their fates should they lose in their third qualifying rounds, while Rangers and Wolverhampton Wanderers have also discovered their next opponents should they progress past Midtjylland and Pyunik…
Maccabi Tel-Aviv or Suduva vs Dinamo Zagreb or Ferencvaros
Crvena zvezda or Copenhagen vs Riga or HJK
Cluj or Celtic vs Sheriff Tiraspol or AIK
Ararat-Armenia or Saburtal vs Dudelange or Kalju
Ludogorets Razgrad or TNS vs Maribor or Rosenborg
Sutjeska or Linfield vs APOEL or Qarabag
Slovan Bratislava or Dundalk vs PAOK or Ajax
Astana or Valletta vs Sarajevo or BATE
Torino or Shakhtyor Soligursk vs Pyunik or Wolverhampton Wanderers
Universitatea Craiova or AEK vs Sparta Prague or Trabzonspor
Legia Warsaw or Atromitos vs Midtjylland or Rangers
Feyenoord or Dinamo Tbilisi vs Norrkoping or Hapoel Beer-Sheva
FCSB or Mlada Boleslav vs Ventspils or Vitoria SC
AEK Larnaca or Gent vs Rijeka or Aberdeen
Haugesund or PSV Eindhoven vs Austria Wien or Apollon Limassol
Luzern or Espanyol vs CSKA Sofia or Zorya Luhansk
Partizan or Malatyaspor vs Molde or Aris
Brondby or Braga vs Thun or Spartak Moscow
Malmo or Zrinjski vs Neftci or Bnei Yehuda
Lokomotiv Plovdiv or Strasbourg vs Vaduz or Eintracht Frankfurt
Mariupol or AZ Alkmaar vs Antwerp or Viktoria Plzen
