Champions League Draw 2016-17: Schedule of Dates for Play-off Round Fixtures

Manchester City will take on Steaua Bucharest in the 2016-17 UEFA Champions League play-off following the draw on Friday, while FC Porto will take on AS Roma in the pick of the fixtures.

Per UEFA’s website, Villarreal will take on AS Monaco in another intriguing clash, while Celtic will face Israeli side Hapoel Beer-Sheva. Borussia Monchengladbach will meet Swiss team Young Boys, and Ajax play Russian side FC Rostov.

The 10 winners will complete the 32-team lineup for this year’s group stage. Here is confirmation of the full draw:

The first legs will be played on Tuesday, August 16, and Wednesday, August 17. The second legs come a week later on August 23 and August 24.

Guardiola in Pursuit of Champions League Success

After reaching three successive semi-final defeats during his time with Bayern Munich, City boss Pep Guardiola will be aiming for Champions League glory, having won it twice with Barcelona as a manager.

The Catalan has recruited well so far this summer, with Nolito, Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus adding pace and flair to his attacking options. Against Steaua, they may well be set to feature alongside familiar favourites Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva, with Guardiola unlikely to leave anything to chance.

The tie should be relatively straightforward for City. As long as the Sky Blues avoid complacency—and its unlikely Guardiola would allow them to be careless—they should have little trouble progressing to the group stage.

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