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UEFA Youth League Domestic Champions path draw

The 32 Domestic Champions path teams compete in two rounds of knockout ties starting in October.

Massimiliano Allegri made the first round draw
Massimiliano Allegri made the first round draw ©UEFA via Getty Images

The 32 Domestic Champions path teams compete for eight play-off berths in two rounds of home-and-away knockout ties.

First round draw (2/3 & 23/24 October)

Altınordu (TUR) v HJK Helsinki (FIN)
Žilina (SVK) v Montpellier (FRA)
Basel (SUI) v Hamilton Academical (SCO)
Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) v Septemvri Sofia (BUL)
Elfsborg (SWE) v KR (ISL)
Anderlecht (BEL) v FC Admira (AUT)
Midtjylland (DEN) v Bohemians (IRL)
Chelsea (ENG) v Molde (NOR)
AEL Limassol (CYP) v PAOK (GRE)
Sigma Olomouc (CZE) v Maribor (SVN)
Gabala (AZE) v Sheriff Tiraspol (MDA)
Hertha Berlin (GER) v Lech Poznań (POL)
Astana (KAZ) v Vllaznia (ALB)
Anji (RUS) v Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR)
Viitorul (ROU) v Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
Minsk (BLR) v Illés Akadémia (HUN)

Second round (7 & 28 November)

Anderlecht (BEL)/FC Admira (AUT) v Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)/Septemvri Sofia (BUL)
Midtjylland (DEN)/Bohemians (IRL) v Basel (SUI) v Hamilton Academical (SCO)
Altınordu (TUR)/HJK Helsinki (FIN) v Žilina (SVK)/Montpellier (FRA)
Elfsborg (SWE)/KR (ISL) v Chelsea (ENG)/Molde (NOR)
AEL Limassol (CYP)/PAOK (GRE) v Minsk (BLR)/ Illés Akadémia (HUN)
Gabala (AZE)/Sheriff Tiraspol (MDA) v Hertha Berlin (GER)/Lech Poznań (POL)
Astana (KAZ)/Vllaznia (ALB) v Viitorul (ROU)/Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
Sigma Olomouc (CZE)/Maribor (SVN) v Anji (RUS)/Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR)

Domestic Champions path guide

  • This path involves the domestic youth champions of the 32 best-ranked associations in the 2017 UEFA association coefficient rankings (the same rankings used to decide access to the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League).
  • Vacancies in the domestic champions path (because a club is instead eligible for the UEFA Champions League path, for example Atlético and Inter) are filled by the domestic youth champion of the next best-ranked association (in the above cases, Moldova and Iceland).
  • Chelsea, who won this competition in 2014/15 and 2015/16 but lost last season's final to Barcelona, enter this path.
  • Two-time semi-finalists Anderlecht keep up their record of entering all six editions.
  • Debuts: AEL Limassol, Anji, Bohemians, FC Admira, Hamilton Academical, Hertha Berlin, Illés Akadémia, Lech Poznań, KR, Montpellier, Septemvri Sofia, Signa Olomouc, Žilina.

Road to Nyon

Play-offs
In the draw on 17 December, the eight Domestic Champions path survivors will be drawn at home to the eight UEFA Champions League path runners-up in one-off ties to be played on 12/13 February to decide the eight remaining round of 16 berths. The other eight places are taken by the UEFA Champions League path group winners.

Dates
Play-off draw: 17 December
Play-offs: 19/20 February
Knockout draw (round of 16 onwards): 22 February
Round of 16: 12/13 March
Quarter-finals: 2/3 April
Semi-final: 26 April, Nyon
Final: 29 April, Nyon

How the draw worked

First round (3 & 24 October)

  • Four geographical groups were formed, with no seeding.

Group 1
Montpellier (FRA)
Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)
Altınordu (TUR)
Basel (SUI)
Hamilton Academical (SCO)
Septemvri Sofia (BUL)
Žilina (SVK)
HJK Helsinki (FIN)

Group 2
Chelsea (ENG)
Anderlecht (BEL)
FC Admira (AUT)
Midtjylland (DEN)
Elfsborg (SWE)
Molde (NOR)
KR (ISL)
Bohemians (IRL)

Group 3
Hertha Berlin (GER)
Sigma Olomouc (CZE)
PAOK (GRE)
Lech Poznań (POL)
AEL Limassol (CYP)
Gabala (AZE)
Maribor (SVN)
Sheriff Tiraspol (MDA)

Group 4
Anji (RUS)
Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
Viitorul (ROU)
Minsk (BEL)
Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR)
Astana (KAZ)
Illés Akadémia (HUN)
Vllaznia (ALB)

  • For all four groups, one pot was prepared with eight balls, with each ball containing the name of a domestic champions path team.
  • Starting with Group 1, the eight balls were placed in a large central bowl and shuffled.
  • Two balls were drawn from this bowl. These teams will play each other, with the first team drawn playing the first match at home and the return away.
  • The same previous step was carried out with the remaining balls in the bowl to complete the pairings for Group 1.
  • The last three steps were then carried out for the other groups.

Second round (7 & 28 November)

  • The 16 first-round pairings were split into two geographical groups (Groups A and B) consisting of eight pairings each, with no seedings.
  • Group A contained the pairings of Group 1 ('Winner of match 1' to 'Winner of match 4') and Group 2 ('Winner of match 5' to 'Winner of match 8') from the first round; Group B contained the pairings of Group 3 ('Winner of match 9' to 'Winner of match 12') and Group 4 ('Winner of match 13' to 'Winner of match 16').
  • For Group A, all the pairings from Group 1 and Group 2 were placed in a large central bowl and shuffled.
  • Two balls were drawn from the bowl. These pairings will play each other, with the first pairing drawn playing the first match at home and the return away.
  • The same previous step was carried out with the remaining balls in the bowl to complete the pairings for Group A.
  • The last three steps was then carried out for Groups 3 and 4 to determine Group B.

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