Champions League Draw 2015-16: Date, TV and Live Stream Info for Play-Off Round
The big guns of European football enter the Champions League in the coming weeks—with Manchester United discovering their opponents in the play-off round on Friday.
The Red Devils are joined by Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen, Shakhtar Donetsk and Sporting Lisbon as the seeded teams in the draw, to take on the best of the third-round qualifying winners.
The matches are two legged encounters, with the first games scheduled for Tuesday, August 18 and Wednesday, August 19—with the second leg to be played one week later.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
Here is how you can watch the draw, with TV and streaming information for your viewing:
Date: Friday, Aug. 7
Time: 11 a.m. (BST), 6 a.m. (ET), 12 p.m. (CEST)
TV Info: Sky Sports News and HD, Eurosport and HD (UK only)
New Signings to Boost United
After the disappointments of David Moyes' tenure and a seventh-place finish in the Premier League after being reigning champions, Manchester United completed stage one of their rebuilding programme with a top four finish to attain a shot at the Champions League.
The Red Devils are forced to enter the game of roulette known as the qualification process and could find themselves drawn against a tricky opponent on Friday.
However, a year is a long time in football, and star signings of 12 months ago—Radamel Falcao and Angel Di Maria—will not be entrusted to take manager Louis van Gaal's team to the next level.
El Tigre was shown the door by LvG after an indifferent campaign, with Di Maria on his way to Paris Saint-Germain, per BBC Sport.
But the Dutch coach has been wheeling and dealing in the marketplace once again, and in have come the marquee captures of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Memphis Depay, along with Southampton midfield powerhouse Morgan Schneiderlin.
The transfers have strengthened United's core—which bubbled and flexed under the weight of expectation for much of last season—giving Van Gaal a more holistic approach to his selection.
It is Memphis who is the most exciting of the captures, and the wide attacker has been in sensational form—both for previous team PSV Eindhoven—and in pre-season.
The Dutch tank returned a magnificent 25 goals in 36 Eredivisie and Champions League games, WhoScored.com—a fantastic contribution for a player not considered a striker.
United legend Denis Irwin believes Memphis can have the same impact as one of the club's former greats, per the Champions League's official Twitter account:
Schweinsteiger's addition also provides two elements clearly missing last season: Experience and leadership. Wayne Rooney was forced to play in central midfield on countless occasions last term, and the arrival of United's new enforcers should see the England captain return to the No. 9 role.
United have looked good in pre-season, beating the likes of Barcelona and MLS opposition, but fans of the club will remember last year too readily. LvG's side performed magnificently in the friendlies, only to collapse in the early part of the season as the competition became serious.
Van Gaal will be hoping history doesn't repeat itself in the coming weeks, with his side looking assured, encompassing their new talent.
Valencia, Leverkusen, Lazio and Sporting will all be hoping for easy ties, but it is United who are the superstar name in Friday's draw.
The third-round qualifiers will be hungry to face any of the top sides in the pre-group stages, and a visit to the likes of Old Trafford, the Mestalla or the Olympic Stadium in Rome will be greatly desired.
However, the bigger clubs have their fate in their own hands, with their potential opponents all from the lower echelons of European football.
