The draw for the UEFA Champions League play-off round has been conducted in Switzerland.
The final round of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League is now upon us – as British sides Arsenal and Celtic await to see who they will face in the play-off round.
Of course there has already been controversy this morning ahead of the draw in Nyon. Celtic originally got thrashed in their qualifying tie, Polish side Legia Warsaw winning 6-1 on aggregate.
However they fielded an ineligible player and have been disqualified – giving the Scottish champions an undeserved reprieve.
That has also messed up the seeding system for the ‘Champions Route’ section of the draw. Ludgorets Razgrad of Bulgaria are now unseeded while Celtic are seeded. Razgrad, Maribor, Slovan Bratislava, Malmo and AaB are Celtic’s potential opponents.
Arsenal are in the ‘League Route’ for non-Champions – and The Gunners could face a tough task with Athletic Bilbao undoubtedly the team to avoid. Lille, Copenhagen, Standard Liege and Besiktas could also be their opponents.
So who will Arsenal and Celtic face.
Here is the complete draw for the UEFA Champions League play-off round…
NK Maribor v Celtic FC
FC Salzburg v Malmo FF
Aalborg BK v Apoel Nicosia FC
FC Steaua Bucharest v PFC Ludgorets Razgrad
SK Slovan Bratislava v FC BATE Borisov
Besiktas JK v Arsenal FC
Standard Liege v FC Zenit St Petersburg
FC Kobenhavn v Bayer 04 Leverkusen
LOSC Lille v FC Porto
SSC Napoli v Athletic Club Bilbao
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