Champions League playoffs kick off: Besiktas host Arsenal FC
Sports |
The first leg matches of the UEFA Champions League playoffs will kick off on August 19 and 20.
Turkish club Besiktas will host London team Arsenal in Istanbul on Tuesday as the first leg matches of the UEFA Champions League playoff begin.
"I have high respect for Besiktas," said Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger in a press conference on Monday as reported on the Turkish club's website.
"In last season's match against Fenerbahce, we faced a lot of pressure from home fans, and I am sure it is not going to be any different in this game," he added.
"We are ready," replied Black Eagles manager Slaven Bilic that same day in a press conference, still according to the club's website. "We also have dreams and the capacity to implement them."
In total, 20 teams will compete in 10 matches in order to qualify for the group stages of one of football's most prestigious competitions, the Champions League.
Fixture of the matches is as follows:
Tuesday, August 19:
Salzburg (Austria) vs Malmo (Sweden)
Steaua Bucharest (Romania) vs Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
Besiktas (Turkey) vs Arsenal (England)
Copenhagen (Denmark) vs Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)
Napoli (Italy) vs Athletic Bilbao (Spain)
Wednesday, August 20:
Lille (France) vs Porto (Portugal)
Standard Liege (Belgium) vs Zenit (Russia)
Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) vs BATE Borisov (Belarus)
Aalborg (Denmark) vs APOEL (Greek Populated Southern Cyprus)
Maribor (Slovenia) vs Celtic (Scotland)
All games kick off at 1945 GMT.
"I have high respect for Besiktas," said Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger in a press conference on Monday as reported on the Turkish club's website.
"In last season's match against Fenerbahce, we faced a lot of pressure from home fans, and I am sure it is not going to be any different in this game," he added.
"We are ready," replied Black Eagles manager Slaven Bilic that same day in a press conference, still according to the club's website. "We also have dreams and the capacity to implement them."
In total, 20 teams will compete in 10 matches in order to qualify for the group stages of one of football's most prestigious competitions, the Champions League.
Fixture of the matches is as follows:
Tuesday, August 19:
Salzburg (Austria) vs Malmo (Sweden)
Steaua Bucharest (Romania) vs Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
Besiktas (Turkey) vs Arsenal (England)
Copenhagen (Denmark) vs Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)
Napoli (Italy) vs Athletic Bilbao (Spain)
Wednesday, August 20:
Lille (France) vs Porto (Portugal)
Standard Liege (Belgium) vs Zenit (Russia)
Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) vs BATE Borisov (Belarus)
Aalborg (Denmark) vs APOEL (Greek Populated Southern Cyprus)
Maribor (Slovenia) vs Celtic (Scotland)
All games kick off at 1945 GMT.
