2016 Champions League playoff round draw results: Porto take on Roma in headline fixture

The draw for the Champions League’s playoff round was made on Friday, and it already has us excited for the return of serious domestic football. The headline fixture sees Porto take on Roma in an unpredictable and even encounter, with both sides having featured in Europe’s top club competition regularly over the last few seasons. Similarly interesting will be Villarreal’s match against AS Monaco, with the Spanish side bidding to return to the group stages after a few years away.

Manchester City’s clash with Steaua Bucharest is certainly a potential banana skin, but they’ll be pleased to have avoided some of the better sides in their half of the draw. The same can be said of Ajax and Borussia Mönchengladbach, who will head into their respective fixtures as favorites. Elsewhere, Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic will have to overcome Israeli side Hapoel Be’er Sheva to make the group stages, while the first-ever Irish team to reach this stage, Dundalk, face Legia Warsaw.

A full list of the games to be played can be found below:

All ties to be played 16/17 and 23/24 August

Champions Route

Ludogorets Razgrad vs. Viktoria Plzeň

Celtic vs. Hapoel Be’er Sheva F.C.

Copenhagen vs. APOEL

Dundalk vs. Legia Warsaw

Dinamo Zagreb vs. FC Salzburg

League Route

Ajax vs. FC Rostov