The final seven berths in the Champions League league phase will be decided by the play-off round, with the ties now confirmed. The matches will be played on August 18-19 and August 25-26.
Play-off ties set
In the league path, Lyon will face Fenerbahce after overcoming 10-man Sparta Prague 4-2 on aggregate. Former Liverpool midfielder Tyler Morton scored for Lyon as they won 3-0 at home in the second leg. Fenerbahce advanced with a 3-0 aggregate win over Sturm Graz.
NEC will play Bodo/Glimt in the other league path qualifier after clinching a surprise 2-1 extra-time aggregate win over 10-man Olympiacos. Bodo/Glimt also needed extra time to beat Union Saint-Gilloise 6-5 on aggregate, winning 3-2 at home against their 10-man opponents, who received two further red cards after the final whistle.
Champions path qualifiers
In the champions path, Celtic will face LASK, a tie that was already set before the play-off round as both sides entered at this stage. Levski Sofia beat Kairat 2-0 on aggregate to set up a clash with AEK Athens, while Dinamo Zagreb's 7-1 aggregate win over Kauno Zalgiris earned them a meeting with Viking.
Slovan Bratislava and Celje will face off after both came through the third qualifying round. The Slovakians won 4-1 on aggregate against Mjallby AIF, while the Slovenians advanced 3-2 on aggregate after two late goals earned them a 2-0 second leg win over Ararat-Armenia.
The final qualifier will see Hapoel Be'er Sheva face Sabah. The Israeli outfit clinched a surprise 2-0 away win over Red Star Belgrade, who had two players sent off, to advance 3-0 on aggregate. The Azerbaijanis thrashed AGF Aarhus 4-0 at home to progress 5-2 on aggregate.
Liverpool's potential opponents
Liverpool are already confirmed to be in pot one for the league phase draw later this month, along with holders Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Man City, Arsenal, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. With the Reds unable to be drawn against either Arsenal or Man City, they will face two from PSG, Bayern, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
Pot two is also confirmed and will be made up of Borussia Dortmund, AS Roma, Sporting CP, Aston Villa, FC Porto, Manchester United, Club Brugge, Real Betis and PSV Eindhoven. Again, with Liverpool unable to face either fellow Premier League side, they will be drawn against two of the other seven sides.
Feyenoord, Lille, Napoli, RB Leipzig, Villarreal, Shakhtar Donetsk and Galatasaray are already confirmed to be in pot three, with the final two berths decided following the conclusion of qualifying rounds. The winners of Fenerbahce and Lyon will also go into pot three, with Bodo/Glimt completing the pot if they progress past NEC. If Bodo/Glimt lose to NEC, then victory for Dinamo Zagreb over Viking would see them complete pot three. But should the Croatians be knocked out too, then the already-qualified Slavia Prague will instead go into the pot.
Meanwhile, VfB Stuttgart, Como and Lens are already confirmed to be in pot four, and they will be joined by the winners of Levski Sofia/AEK Athens, Celtic/LASK, Slovan Bratislava/Celje and Hapoel Be'er Sheva/Sabah. Slavia Prague will also be in pot four if Bodo/Glimt and/or Dinamo Zagreb qualify for the league phase. NEC and/or Viking would then complete the pot if they instead progressed at the expense of the aforementioned pot three hopefuls. Liverpool will face two sides from both pot three and pot four to complete their league phase draw.
