Liverpool Draw Hoffenheim In UEFA Champions League Play-Off

The Champions League and Europa League play-off draws were completed in Nyon, Switzerland, on Friday.

The 20 teams contesting for the ten available places in the UEFA Champions League group stage have discovered who they will be up against for a spot in Europe’s elite club competition.

The 10 winners earn a place in the draw for the Champions League group stage which will be held on Thursday 24 August and the defeated teams transferring to the UEFA Europa League group stage.

Five-time winners Liverpool FC, will return to Germany in the first leg to face Hoffenheim who finished fourth in last season’s Bundesliga.

Jürgen Klopp’s side will start as favourites against Hoffenheim, but will be tested by a side who survived relegation under Julian Nagelsmann before pulling off a surprise top-four finish in Germany.

Italian club side Napoli will be up against France’s Nice.

In the Europa League play-off draw, Everton were paired against Croatian side Hadjuk Split.

The Champions league play-off ties will be played on 15/16 and 22/23 August.

The Europa league qualifiers round ties will be played on 17 and 24th August.

The 22 winners of the Europa League play-off stage ties will qualify for the group stage.

Full draw
Champions League route:
Qarabag v FC Copenhagen
APOEL v Slavia Prague
Olympiacos v Rijeka
Celtic v Astana
Hapoel Beer Sheva v Maribor
Istanbul Basaksehir v Sevilla
Young Boys v CSKA Moscow
Napoli v Nice
Hoffenheim v Liverpool
Sporting Lisbon v Steaua Bucharest

Europa League draw
Shkendija (Macedonia) v AC Milan (Italy)
Panathinaikos (Greece) v Athletic Bilbao (Spain)
Osijek (Croatia) v Austria Wien (Austria)
Apollon Limassol (Cyprus) v Midtjylland (Denmark)
Crvena Zvezda (Serbia) v Krasnodar (Russia)
FH (Iceland) v Braga (Portugal)
Club Brugge (Belgium) v AEK Athens (Greece)
Everton (England) v Hajduk Split (Croatia)
Viitorul (Romania) v Salzburg (Austria)
Vardar (Macedonia) v Fenerbahce (Turkey)
Maritimo (Portugal) v Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine)
Partizan (Serbia) v Videoton (Hungary)
Ajax (Netherlands) v Rosenborg (Norway)
Altach (Austria) v Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel)
Legia Warsaw (Poland) v Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova)
Utrecht (Netherlands) v Zenit St Petersburg (Russia)
BATE Borisov (Bulgaria) v Olexandriya (Ukraine)
Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic) v Larnaca (Cyprus)
PAOK (Greece) v Ostersund (Sweden)
Domzale (Slovenia) v Marseille (France)
Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) v Skenderbeu (Albania)
Ludogorets (Bulgaria) v Suduva (Lithuania)