The draws for the UEFA Champions League and Europa League are over, and we now know who will face whom in an attempt to reach the knockout stage of each of these competitions.
The winners of these playoff matches will face the teams that have already qualified for the knockout phase.
Here’s what matches await us in a couple of weeks.
Champions League Draw: The Clash of the Giants
If there is something the new competition format has brought us, that is definitely plenty of excitement in the final group Matchday. And in that match, Man City managed to secure its place in the playoffs.
And not only did it secure its place in the playoffs, but also set up a duel with now archrivals in the Champions League, Real Madrid.
That is the most anticipated match of the playoffs that the draw has set, but that’s not to say that others won’t be exciting.
Here’s the complete draw for the playoffs for the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League:
Tuesday, 11 February:
- Brest vs Paris Saint-Germain
- Juventus vs PSV Eindhoven
- Manchester City vs Real Madrid
- Sporting CP vs Borussia Dortmund
Wednesday, 12 February:
- Club Brugge vs Atalanta
- Monaco vs Benfica
- Celtic vs Bayern München
- Feyenoord vs Milan
The return legs will be played on 18 and 19 February.
Europa League Draw: Roma to Travel to Porto
The Europa League draw has also brought us a match that promises loads of fun for football fans and punters everywhere, especially in Italy and Portugal.
Porto will host Roma in the first leg, with the Portuguese side later traveling to Rome for the rematch.
Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahçe will face Anderlecht in their playoff matches, and AZ Alkmaar will host Galatasaray in the first of their two playoff matches. We should also expect plenty of excitement all around Europe as the stakes are big at this time of the season.
This is the complete draw for the UEFA Europa League playoff:
Thursday, 13 February:
- Ferencváros vs Viktoria Plzeň (18:45 CET)
- Midtjylland vs Real Sociedad (18:45 CET)
- Union SG vs Ajax (18:45 CET)
- Fenerbahçe vs Anderlecht (18:45 CET)
- AZ Alkmaar vs Galatasaray
- Twente vs Bodø/Glimt
- Porto vs Roma
- PAOK vs FCSB
The second league will be played a week later, on 20 February.
The draw also determined the potential opponents for the eight teams that have qualified directly for the round of 16 in both competitions, which is something we will discuss after the playoffs.
