Manchester United must
beat Club Brugge over two legs to reach the Champions’ League group stage after
being drawn against the Belgian side in Friday's play-off draw.
Louis van Gaal's men, who
could only manage a fourth place finish in the Premier League last term, will
play the first leg at Old Trafford on August 18 or 19. The Red Devils then face
a potentially season-defining away leg at the Jan Breydel Stadium a week
later (August 25 or 26).
Club Brugge, who finished
second in the Belgian league last season, beat Greek side Panathinaikos 4-2 on
aggregate in the third qualifying round but it will be seen as a decent draw
for Van Gaal's side, who could have been pitted against Lazio, Monaco or CSKA
Moscow.
United have never played
Club Brugge but they have a history of meeting Belgian opposition in Europe,
including a record 10-0 victory over Anderlecht in the 1956-57 European Cup.
Celtic was drawn against
Swedish champions Malmo in the play-off round, with the first leg taking place
at Parkhead.
The Scottish champions
avoided potential nightmare trips to Kazakhstan or Albania after beating
Qarabag, of Azerbaijan, in the third qualifying round.
But Malmo, European Cup
finalists in 1979, has plenty of pedigree and have won the Swedish title in the
last two seasons.
Malmo overturned a 2-0
deficit from their away leg with Red Bull Salzburg to win 3-2 on aggregate and
have former Celtic player Jo Inge Berget in their ranks.
