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UEFA Champions League play-offs tie by tie

UEFA.com looks over the ten play-off ties to see if there are any historical pointers to the outcomes, and finds a rapid reunion is on the cards for Celtic and Astana.

Astana's Yuri Logvinenko (left) and Leigh Griffiths of Celtic were both on target in the teams' 2016/17 tie
Astana's Yuri Logvinenko (left) and Leigh Griffiths of Celtic were both on target in the teams' 2016/17 tie ©Getty Images

League route

İstanbul Başakşehir (TUR) v Sevilla (ESP) 
• This will be İstanbul Başakşehir's first meeting with a Spanish club in UEFA competition.

• One team or other has scored three goals in each of Sevilla's three meetings with Turkish clubs in UEFA club competition. The Spanish side were 3-0 home winners against Beşiktaş at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán in the group stage of their victorious UEFA Cup campaign in 2005/06.

The Champions League play-off draw
The Champions League play-off draw©Sportsfile

• Less happily for Sevilla, their UEFA Champions League campaign was ended by Fenerbahçe in 2007/08. Beaten 3-2 in Istanbul in the first leg of their round of 16 tie, Sevilla won by the same scoreline in Spain only to lose the ensuing penalty shoot-out – also 3-2.

Young Boys (SUI) v CSKA Moskva (RUS) 
• Young Boys have won both previous home games against Russian clubs – and lost both away. The Swiss club beat Zenit 2-1 in the first leg of their 2010/11 UEFA League round of 32 tie, but were eliminated after losing 3-1 in St Petersburg; in the group stage of the same competition in 2012/13 they were beaten 2-0 at Anji but won 3-1 at home.

• CSKA have won both their previous games against Swiss clubs. They recorded a 3-0 victory at Lausanne-Sport in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League and were then 5-1 winners at home.

Nice's Mario Balotelli is looking for a first win against Napoli
Nice's Mario Balotelli is looking for a first win against Napoli©Getty Images

Napoli (ITA) v Nice (FRA)
• Napoli won both their last two meetings with French teams, beating Marseille away (2-1) and home (3-2) in the 2013/14 group stage.

• The Italian side's knockout record in UEFA competition against Ligue 1 clubs is W1 L2, all three ties coming in the UEFA Cup; they beat Bordeaux 1-0 on aggregate in the 1988/89 third round but lost on penalties to Toulouse in the first round in 1986/87 and were beaten by Paris 2-0 over two legs in the 1992/93 second round.

• Nice have never played a Serie A side in UEFA competition.

• Mario Balotelli was sent off in AC Milan's 2-1 home defeat by Napoli on 22 September 2013. The Italy striker's record against the Partonopei for Internazionale and Milan was W0 D1 L4 – he failed to score in that time.

Hoffenheim (GER) v Liverpool (ENG)
• This is Hoffenheim's first European tie.

• Liverpool are unbeaten in their last six meetings with German clubs. Their overall record is P36 W17 D13 L6 F58 A31 (W11 D3 L0 at home; W2 D8 L4 away).

Liverpool's Roberto Firmino is looking forward to a Hoffenheim reunion
Liverpool's Roberto Firmino is looking forward to a Hoffenheim reunion©Getty Images

• Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp faced Hoffenheim 16 times as a manager during his time in Germany. His record was D1 L1 with Mainz; W5 D5 L4 while at Borussia Dortmund.

• Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino was at Hoffenheim between 2011 and 2015, scoring 38 goals in 140 league games.

Sporting CP (POR) v FCSB (ROU)
• Sporting have played six previous matches against Romanian clubs – and the home team has won every one, with the away team failing to score on every occasion.

• The Lisbon club got the better of FC Timişoara in the 1990/91 UEFA Cup second round (7-0 home, 0-2 away) but lost to Dinamo Bucureşti in the first round of the same competition in 1991/92 (1-0 home, 0-2 away).

• In the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League group stage, Sporting were 2-0 home winners against Vaslui, losing 1-0 in Romania.

• FCSB have won only one of their previous six games against clubs from Portugal, beating Rio Ave 2-1 in Bucharest in the 2014/15 UEFA Europa League group stage; they drew 2-2 away.

• FCSB's previous four ties with Portuguese clubs all came against Benfica, to whom they lost in the 1987/88 European Champion Clubs' Cup semi-finals (0-0 home, 0-2 away). In the 1994/95 UEFA Champions League group stage, a 2-1 defeat in Lisbon was followed by a 1-1 draw in Romania.

Highlights: Six stunning play-off round goals

Champions route

Qarabağ (AZE) v København (DEN)
• The teams met in the 1998/99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup qualifying round, with FCK easing to a 10-0 aggregate victory (6-0 home, 4-0 away).

• That tie was also the only time either side has played a club from their opponents' country.

APOEL (CYP) v Slavia Praha (CZE)
• APOEL have played two previous knockout ties against Czech clubs. They lost to Slavia's city rivals Sparta Praha in the 2004/05 second qualifying round (2-2 home, 1-2 away) but got the better of Jabolec in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round (1-0 home, 3-1 away).

• The Cypriot club also played Sparta in the 2015/16 UEFA Europa League group stage, losing 2-0 away and 3-1 at home.

• Slavia have never played a club from Cyprus in UEFA competition.

Olympiacos (GRE) v Rijeka (CRO)
• Olympiacos have played six previous matches against Croatian opposition. They beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-1 at home in the 1977/78 UEFA Cup first round first leg only to lose the return 5-1, but they have enjoyed better fortune in UEFA Champions League group games against the same opponents.

• The Greek club beat Dinamo 2-0 at home in the 1998/99 group stage, drawing 1-1 away, and recorded away (1-0) and home (2-1) wins against the Zagreb outfit in 2015/16.

• Rijeka have never played a Greek team.

Watch: five huge play-off round shocks

Celtic (SCO) v Astana (KAZ)
• Celtic came out on top when the teams met in last season's third qualifying round. A 1-1 draw in Kazakhstan was followed by a 2-1 success for the Scottish club in Glasgow; Leigh Griffiths scored in both ties, with Moussa Dembélé's 90th-minute penalty in the second leg proving decisive. Yuri Logvinenko scored Astana's first-leg goal.

• Celtic also came out on top in their only other tie against opposition from Kazakhstan, turning round a 2-0 first-leg loss at Shakhter Karagandy in the 2013/14 play-offs with a 3-0 second-leg win at Celtic Park.

• The 2016/17 meeting was Astana's sole tie against a club from Scotland.

Hapoel Beer-Sheva (ISR) v Maribor (SVN)
• Hapoel have never played a team from Slovenia before.

• Maribor's record in knockout ties against Israeli clubs is W1 L1. They lost 3-2 on aggregate to Maccabi Haifa in the 2011/12 third qualifying round (1-2 away, 1-1 home) but beat Maccabi Tel-Aviv by the same aggregate score, at the same stage, three years later (1-0 home, 2-2 away).

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