UEFA Champions League draw reaction: As it happened
Friday, August 7, 2015
Article summary
The UEFA.com DrawCentre had live reaction from across Europe after the UEFA Champions League play-off draw was made. See what the coaches and players think about their ties.
Article top media content
Article body
The 20-team lineup for the UEFA Champions League play-off draw, streamed live in our DrawCentre from 12.00CET on Friday, has been set with the end of the third qualifying round. UEFA.com has the full lowdown.
League route
Seeded: Manchester United (ENG), Valencia (ESP), Bayer Leverkusen (GER), Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR), Sporting CP (POR)
Unseeded: CSKA Moskva (RUS), Lazio (ITA), Club Brugge (BEL), AS Monaco (FRA), Rapid Wien (AUT)
Champions route
Seeded: FC Basel (SUI), Celtic (SCO), APOEL (CYP), BATE Borisov (BLR), Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
Unseeded: Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR), Partizan (SRB), Malmö (SWE), Skënderbeu (ALB), Astana (KAZ)
Draw
• The teams with the five highest coefficients in each route – this applies to both League and Champions – are seeded and drawn against the other five teams in that route.
• To determine each tie, one side apiece from the seeded and non-seeded pots will be drawn and placed in another pot, with the first of the two to then be picked out at home in the first leg.
• Due to the restriction in Russian and Ukrainian clubs meeting, Shakhtar cannot be drawn against CSKA Moskva.
Matches
Ties will be played on 18/19 and 25/26 August, the ten winners joining the 22 clubs automatically qualified for the group stage.
Bye to group stage: Barcelona (holders), Bayern München, Chelsea, Benfica, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Zenit, PSV Eindhoven, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, FC Porto, Arsenal, Manchester City, Sevilla, Olympique Lyonnais, Dynamo Kyiv, Olympiacos, Galatasaray, AS Roma, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Wolfsburg, KAA Gent
Draw facts:
• If Valencia win their play-off, Spain will be the first nation to have five clubs in the same group stage.
• Borussia Mönchengladbach could be the 11th different German side to compete in the UEFA Champions League group stage, one more than France and behind only Spain on 13.
• Astana are the only remaining European Cup debutants.
Previous winners in play-offs
Manchester United (1968, 1999, 2008), Celtic (1967)
Other UEFA Cup /UEFA Europa League (UEL) or European Cup Winners' Cup (CWC) winners in play-offs
Valencia (2004 UEL, 1980 CWC), Shakhtar Donetsk (2009 UEL)
Sporting CP (1964 CWC)
Clubs who could be their nation's first group stage representatives
Skënderbeu (ALB), Astana (KAZ)
Clubs that could return to group stage from 2014/15
Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting CP, FC Basel, Shakhtar Donetsk, CSKA Moskva, AS Monaco, BATE Borisov, Malmö, APOEL
Teams remaining from second qualifying round who have previously progressed from there to group stage
BATE Borisov (2008/09, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2014/15), Partizan (2010/11), APOEL (2009/10, 2011/12), Dinamo Zagreb (2011/12, 2012/13), Celtic FC (2013/14), Malmö (2014/15)