UEFA Champions League 2013-14 Draw: Locks to Advance from Playoff Round

The 2013-14 UEFA Champions League qualifying stage will continue this summer with the much-anticipated playoff round, which will feature 20 teams vying for 10 spots in this fall's group stage.

Clubs like Arsenal, AC Milan and Schalke highlight some of the best that the non-champions route has to offer, while Celtic and Basel are two of the more well-known clubs looking to earn a berth via the champions route this August.

With the draw in the books, the matchups have officially been set and all that's left to do is watch the action play out.

Here we'll take a closer look at the key dates and matchups while breaking down a trio of locks to advance from the upcoming playoff round.

Arsenal

Arsene Wenger's squad certainly had a challenging draw, landing Turkish club Fenerbahce, but there's no reason to believe the Gunners can't knock off the Super Lig runners-up (who were bounced by Spartak Moscow at this stage a year ago).

Arsenal haven't taken advantage of the transfer window just yet this summer, but they do possess talent in some key areas. Theo Walcott, Santi Cazorla, Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski each scored 11 or more goals in the Premier League last season.

The gifted foursome also combined for 33 assists in league play. Meanwhile, Podolski led the way in the Champions League, scoring four goals in six appearances last year.

Defensively, this is a unit that ranked second in the Premier League a year ago, allowing just 37 goals in 38 league matches.

If you still doubt the Gunners' chances, keep in mind that this is a squad that was one goal away from knocking off eventual Champions League winner Bayern Munich in the round of 16 last spring.

Celtic 

The Scottish Premier League champions will take on Kazakhstan's Shakhter Karagandy in the champions route. 

The Celts were outright dominant a year ago, winning 24 league matches and closing out the Scottish Premier League table by 16 points over second place Motherwell. On the other hand, Kazakhstan Premier League champs Shakhter barely beat out Irtysh and Aktobe for the league crown.

Stellar attacking midfielder Kris Commons will be a player to keep an eye on for Celtic. The 29-year-old scored 11 goals and recorded nearly a dozen assists a season ago in league play. 

Commons scored the first goal in Celtic's playoff-round win over Helsingborg a year ago, too. The team would make it all the way to the Champions League round of 16 last season before falling to Juventus.

AC Milan

Milan is coming off a disappointing third-place finish in Serie A last year, but is still a European powerhouse with plenty of talent across the board. Therefore, the Red and Blacks should be favored in their playoff-round tilt with Dutch club PSV Eindhoven.

Mario Balotelli's presence on the pitch can often be both good and bad for the Italian giants, but as his 12 goals in 13 appearances with the club last season (after coming over from Manchester City) prove, more often his impact is positive. 

Although many can't seem to forget Milan's brutal 4-0 loss at Barcelona to end their Champions League run last year, it's worth noting that Max Allegri's squad actually won the first leg 2-0 at home to put Barca on the brink.

Like Arsenal, this is a club with round of 16 potential, and it's difficult to imagine them failing to reach the group stage in 2013-14. 

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