Champions League Draw 2018-19: Schedule of Dates for Play-off Round Fixtures
Celtic will play either Malmo or Vidi in the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League play-off round if they get through the third qualifying round against AEK Athens.
Meanwhile, the winners of Benfica and Fenerbahce will take on PAOK or Spartak Moscow, as those who progress through the qualifiers compete for the final six places in the group stage of this year's tournament.
Here are all the play-off fixtures:
- Crvena Zvezda/Spartak Trnava vs. Red Bull Salzburg/Shkendija
- Qarabag FK/BATE Borisov vs. PSV Eindhoven
- Young Boys vs. Astana/Dinamo Zagreb
- Malmo FF/Vidi FC vs. Celtic/AEK Athens
- Benfica/Fenerbahce vs. PAOK/Spartak Moscow
- Standard Liege/Ajax vs. Slavia Prague/Dynamo Kiev
The play-offs will take place after the third qualifying round, with the first legs commencing on Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 24 of August and the second legs a week later.
The final qualifying round will be played on the August 7 and 8 and then conclude on August 14.
Defeat in the qualifying round will put an end to the losers' Champions League hopes, but they could still find a place in the UEFA Europa League, as they'll enter the play-off for that competition instead.
Here's a look at who Celtic could face should they fail to get past AEK, per BBC Sport's Alasdair Lamont:
The Bhoys will be hoping to get past the Greek side to set up a trip to Sweden or Hungary, though.
Vidi have never made it past the qualifying rounds before, so Malmo are perhaps a more likely opponent in the play-off.
That could represent a tricky tie for the Scottish champions, who were defeated 4-3 on aggregate in the play-off by the Swedish outfit in 2015.
Celtic have reached the Champions League group stage in each of the last two seasons under manager Brendan Rodgers, though, so they'll feel confident of doing so again.
Those that progress to the play-off round are guaranteed European football this season—win and they'll be in the group stage of the Champions League, lose and they'll be in the group stage for the Europa League.
