Champions League Fixtures 2015: Updated Schedule, Live Stream and Play-off Picks
The 2015 UEFA Champions League play-off fixtures continue on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the 20 returning teams set to do battle in the return legs in the hope of obtaining a ticket for the group stages of Europe's premiere club competition.
Top clubs like Manchester United, Valencia and Shakhtar Donetsk secured wins in their respective first legs, and all of them will be looking to get the job done. A number of other fixtures are still very much up in the air, and fans should get ready for some serious drama.
Here's a look at the schedule for the final play-off fixtures, including full picks and live stream info:
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| August 25 | Dinamo Zagreb | Skenderbeu | 2-1 | 1-1 | Dinamo | BT Sport Extra, Fox Soccer 2Go |
| August 25 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | Basel | 2-2 | 0-1 | Basel | BT Sport Extra, Fox Soccer 2Go |
| August 25 | Malmo | Celtic | 2-3 | 2-2 | Celtic | BT Sport Extra, Fox Soccer 2Go |
| August 25 | Monaco | Valencia | 1-3 | 1-0 | Valencia | BT Sport Extra, Fox Soccer 2Go |
| August 25 | Shakhtar | Rapid Wien | 1-0 | 3-0 | Shakhtar | BT Sport Extra, Fox Soccer 2Go |
| August 26 | Apoel | Astana | 0-1 | 2-1 | Astana | BT Sport Extra, Fox Soccer 2Go |
| August 26 | Bayer Leverkusen | Lazio | 0-1 | 3-1 | Leverkusen | BT Sport Extra, Fox Soccer 2Go |
| August 26 | Club Brugge | Manchester United | 1-3 | 0-2 | United | BT Sport Extra, Fox Soccer 2Go |
| August 26 | CSKA Moscow | Sporting | 1-2 | 1-4 | Sporting | BT Sport Extra, Fox Soccer 2Go |
| August 26 | Partizan | Bate | 0-1 | 2-1 | Bate | BT Sport Extra, Fox Soccer 2Go |
All matches will kick off at 7:45 p.m. BST/2:45 p.m. ET. American viewers can access the Fox Soccer 2Go app by clicking here. For British viewers, the BT Sport Extra app can be accessed by clicking here.
Preview
Marouane Fellaini's last-minute goal at Old Trafford means Manchester United will be heavy favourites to advance when they travel to Belgium to face a slumping Club Brugge side. The Belgians suffered a disappointing 2-0 defeat at the hands of S.V. Zulte Waregem over the weekend, and few will be betting on the hosts pulling off an upset for the ages.
Veteran Timmy Simons left the pitch with an injury at Old Trafford, and according to Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch), he won't be ready in time for the return leg against United. Without their spiritual leader in midfield, the Belgians looked completely lost against Zulte Waregem, and more of the same is expected on Wednesday.
The Mancunians dropped their first points of the season, playing out a drab 0-0 draw with Newcastle United, but the Red Devils' defence looks solid enough early in the season and seems unlikely to concede two against Brugge.
As reported by Gemma Thompson for United's official website, manager Louis van Gaal thinks his team's struggle in front of goal is down to bad luck, more than anything else:
"I think the quality in the third phase in the crossing positions, we didn’t do so good, we didn’t make the right choices. Also we can do better with the speed of the ball and, of course, we had open chances, alone with the goalkeeper, and we have to score there normally. But I think we were very unlucky. But we played fantastic as a team and we have fought until the end and that’s fantastic to see. I like this type of game, only the result was bad.
"
Brugge's slumping form may actually present the Red Devils with the perfect opportunity to jump-start their season. The Belgians will be forced to attack with numbers and leave plenty of open space United can exploit on the counter-attack.
Memphis Depay and Adnan Januzaj have the raw pace to take advantage of this, and if the two youngsters play up to their potential, Wednesday's fixture shouldn't present much of a problem for the Mancunians.
Monaco were extremely unlucky to lose 3-1 at the Mestalla, as the French outfit certainly wasn't overmatched by Valencia and was robbed of a stone-cold penalty in the second half. As shared by ESPN's Andy Brassell, new Valencia goalkeeper Mathew Ryan immediately shone on his debut:
The Australian moved to Valencia from Club Brugge during the summer and has already shown why so many scouts rate him highly. While he may not have ideal size―he's under 6' tall―his positioning and reflexes are close to world-class, and with Monaco expected to throw all of their players forward at home, he's in for a busy night on Tuesday.
Celtic travel to Sweden with a slim one-goal lead over Malmo, and things could have been so much better had former Celtic star Jo Inge Berget not scored twice for the visitors, including a vital goal in the dying minutes of the match.
The Scots dominated Malmo for large stretches of the first half, but they know full well things won't be as easy in Sweden. Malmo haven't lost at home since May, per WhoScored.com, and their 3-0 win over Red Bull Salzburg in the previous round was beyond impressive.
As shared by the Champions League's official Twitter account, Celtic forward Leigh Griffiths believes the hosts will have to come out and attack early, but just one goal would suffice for Malmo to wrap up qualification:
One other match fans should keep an eye on is the clash between Lazio Roma and Bayer Leverkusen. There was little between the two sides during the first leg, with talented forward Keita Balde Diao giving the Italians a slim 1-0 win, and Leverkusen are expected to attack Lazio early and often in the return leg.
Lazio have plenty of fast players at their disposal, including the highly touted Felipe Anderson, and this particular match has the potential to turn into an absolute goal fest.
