The British interest in the UEFA Champions League heads towards the play off round now and so that means Celtic and Liverpool both know their fates. Liverpool will take on German side Hoeffenshiem in their play off round and the Reds are trading at 2/5 with bet365 to qualify for the group stage from that. This will be Hoffenheim’s first Europe tie and Liverpool hold a 100% qualification record from this stage of proceedings. Celtic get a tie against Astana who they were paired up with in the third qualifying round last season. The Scottish Champions came through that and they are 2/5 at bet365 to qualify for the group stage.
League Route
Hoffenheim v Liverpool
The Reds won’t be unhappy with this draw as they are taking on a side who are making their European debut. It has been a pretty decent summer for the Reds so and Liverpool have experience at this stage of qualification, holding a 100% play-off qualification record in the UEFA Champions League. Liverpool starts out on the road in the first leg where they are a price of 11/8 to win against the Germans who are 15/8 for the victory. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has had 16 managerial games against Hoffenheim. His record is W5 D6 L5 against them.
Istanbul Basaksehir v Sevilla
The Turkish outfit have a chance to make it through to the Group Stage for the first time in their history. This will be their first ever meeting with Spanish opposition. The last time that Sevilla went up against Turkish opposition in the UEFA Champions League as in the 2007/08 when they were dumped out 3-2 in a penalty shootout in the round of 16 after both legs were settled by 3-2 home victories. Sevilla are a big odds on price of 1/4 to qualify from the tie.
Young Boys v CSKA Moscow
This should be an interesting tie as the Swiss side have won both of their previous home games against Russian opposition. That having been said, they have lost both of their away games against them. CSKA have faced Swiss opposition twice before and won both of them, recording an 8-1 aggregate victory over Lausanne Sport in the 2010/11 Europa League. It looks as if it will be one of the tighter contests, but CSKA are 2/5 odds on to qualify with Young Boys at 7/4.
Napoli v Nice
A high profile game in the play offs then and Napoli have won both of their last two games against French opposition. Nice came through a tough qualifier against Ajax in the last qualifying round of the Champions League, winning through on goal difference after a 3-3 aggregate against the Dutch side. For Nice, who have Italian Mario Balotelli in their ranks, this will be their first encounter with an Italian side in UEFA competition. Napoli are 2/5 favourites to win the tie and reach the group stage.
Sporting v Steaua Bucharest
Sporting are 2/5 favourites to get through this play off. The Portuguese club have a decent record against Romanian opposition having one each of their home games against them and all of those have been to nil as well. As for Steaua, they have played six previous games against Portuguese opposition and they have won just the one of them and all four of their previous ties were against Benfica so face Sporting for the first time.
Champions Route
Karabakh v FC Copenhagen
The Danish champions are favourites to get through this tie. There has been a previous meeting between these two which was back in the 1998/99 UEFA Cup Winners Cup qualifying round and Copenhagen posted a 10-0 aggregate win on that occasion. That remains the only previous contest that either side has played a club from their opponents’ country.
APOEL v Slavia Prague
This should end up being the tightest battle for a place in the group stage of the Champions League. Slavia Prague are 4/6 odds on at bet65 to qualify, but APOEL are there at 11/10. Cypriots APOEL have won one of their two previous knockout sites against Czech clubs. This will be the first time that Slavia Prague have met a side from Cyprus.
Olympiacos v Rijeka
Olympiakos are 8/13 to qualify from this tie. They have faced Croatian opposition six times before and they hold a W4 D1 L1 record from those six games. The most recent were against Dinamo Zagreb in 2015/16. Rijeka will be facing a Greek side for the first time and are 6/5 to get through.
Celtic v Astana
These two were together in the third qualifying round just last season in the UEFA Champions League and the Scots won through that 3-2 on aggregate following a 1-1 draw in Kazakhstan and then a 2-1 home triumph for Celtic at home. It was a 90th-minute penalty in the second leg that got Celtic through though. Celtic won their only other previous encounter with a side from Kazakhstan, winning 3-2 on aggregate against Shakhter Karagandy in the 2013/14 play offs. The Scottish Champions are 2/5 at bet365 to qualify.
Hapoel beer-Sheva v Maribor
This will be the first time that Israel side Chapel have faced Slovenia opposition and the bookmaker is split on this one with both 5/6 to qualify. Maribor have played two knockout ties against Israeli clubs before and they hold a W1 L1 record from that. Their most recent was against Maccabi Tel-Aviv in the 2014/15 campaign when they won 3-2 on aggregate.
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