Clubs await Champions League draw
Arsenal and Celtic are both desperate to progress to the Champions League group stages.
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Friday, 07, Aug 2009 06:00
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The draw for the Champions League play-off round will be made in Nyon later this morning, with Arsenal and Celtic both set to find out who they will face.
The two British clubs will learn their fate at 11:00 BST - with the possibility that the two could face each other in a bid to reach the Champions League group stages.
Celtic just made the cut after a surprise 2-0 win over Dinamo Moscow on Wednesday night - the first time the Scottish outfit had won away from home in Europe since 2003, and the first time the club had recorded a victory after losing the first leg at Parkhead.
Along with Arsenal, Celtic could instead face Lyon, Sporting Lisbon, Panathinaikos or Stuttgart.
If the Gunners avoid Tony Mowbray's side, they will instead face one of Atletico Madrid, Fiorentina, Anderlecht or Romanian side Timisoara.
The play-off matches will be played over two legs and will take place on August 18th/19th and August 25th/26th.
Elsewhere, the likes of Olympiakos, FC Copenhagen and Maccabi Haifa will also find out who stands between them and a place in the Champions League proper.
In total, ten sides from the 20 hopefuls will make it into the group stages, joining 22 automatic entrants including Manchester United, Real Madrid and European champions Barcelona.