MX23RW : Sunday, January 5 00:43:56| >> :120:10914:10914:

Manchester City draw Steaua Bucuresti in Champions League playoff round

Manchester City will face Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League playoff round, while Celtic will take on Hapoel Beer-Sheva.

Manchester City will have to beat Steaua Bucuresti across two legs in order to reach the Champions League group stage.

Pep Guardiola's men, who finished fourth in the Premier League last season under former manager Manuel Pellegrini, have been drawn against the Romanian side for the playoff round.

It is a favourable tie for City in terms of opposition as they could have come up against tougher teams in Roma and AS Monaco, but they face a lengthy trip to Romania.

Brendan Rodgers and his Celtic team also have some long travel ahead of them as they have been drawn against Israeli club Hapoel Beer-Sheva.

The Scottish giants sealed a place in the playoff round after defeating Astana 3-2 on aggregate in the qualifiers.

Dundalk, who play in the League of Ireland Premier Division, have been drawn against Legia Warsaw, who are the reigning champions in the Polish top flight.

Elsewhere, Portuguese side Porto will go head to head with Italian giants Roma, while La Liga's Villarreal will take on French club Monaco in the playoffs.

The first legs will be played on August 16 and 17, with the return legs a week later on August 23 and 24.

Champions League playoff draw:

Ludogorets vs. Viktoria Plzen
Celtic vs. Hapoel Beer-Sheva
FC Copenhagen vs. APOEL FC
Dundalk vs. Legia Warsaw
Dinamo Zagreb vs. Salzburg
Steaua Bucuresti vs. Manchester City
Porto vs. Roma
Ajax vs. FC Rostov
Young Boys vs. Borussia Monchengladbach
Villarreal vs. Monaco

ID:278218: cacheID:278218:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4132:
Written by
Danielle Joynson
Restore Data
Share this article now:
A shot of the UEFA Europa League trophy before the final between Dnipro and Sevilla in Warsaw on May 27, 2015
Read Next:
Europa League: Group permutations
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool18143145172845
2Arsenal20117239182140
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest1911442619737
4Chelsea20106439241536
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle20105534221235
6Manchester CityMan City2010463627934
7Bournemouth209653023733
8Aston Villa209563032-232
9Fulham197842825329
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2061043029128
11Brentford208393835327
12Tottenham HotspurSpurs20731042301224
13West Ham UnitedWest Ham206592439-1523
14Manchester UnitedMan Utd196492126-522
15Crystal Palace204972128-721
16Everton193881525-1017
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1944113142-1116
18Ipswich TownIpswich1936101833-1515
19Leicester CityLeicester2035122344-2114
20Southampton2013161244-326


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!