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Champions League draw: Newcastle to face Qarabag in the play-offs; Real Madrid to play former manager Jose Mourinho's Benfica The draw is for those who finished between 9th and 24th in the league phase Howe will again have to strike a delicate balance with his changes as he did in Paris midweek, writes our Newcastle reporter The games to be played on either February 17 or 18 and the second legs a week later Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea don't find out their opponents until the draw on February 27 Europa League: Newcastle to face Fenerbahce and Celtic to play Stuttgart - and they could meet each other in the quarter-finals ICYMI: Premier League team news: Saliba & Timber | Frimpong & Konate | Guimaraes, Joelinton & Livramento | Diego Gomez Transfer lines: Slot tight-lipped | Ayari 'a Brighton player' Click 'Get Involved' to have your say Written by Ben Ramsdale, Craig Nelson, Alastair Telfer & Sean Byrne. Champions League The first legs of the Champions League play-offs take place on either 17 or 18 February and the second legs are one week later. Click 'Get Involved' to have your say So what do you think Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester City fans? Would you prefer to be on the silver or the blue pathway? Thumbs up for silver, down for blue. .. Silver pathway Blue pathway Get in touch with your thoughts using the 'Get Involved' button. One thing we do know is that Newcastle are now on a separate pathway to defending champions Paris St-Germain and perennial winners Real Madrid. That means they cannot play either until the final! But don't get too excited Magpies fans. We also know that Newcastle will play either Barcelona or Chelsea in the last 16, should they get past Qarabag, of course. Click 'Get Involved' to have your say Worth noting Newcastle now have an away trip to Qarabag in between their away games at Villa (FA Cup) and Man City (league) all within a week… Alex Umph. .. Ciaran Kelly BBC Sport reporter It’s a long way from Newcastle to Baku. No wonder, then, Eddie Howe hinted this morning that a

two-legged tie against Monaco was his personal preference because of how long

it would take to travel to Azerbaijan. But the Newcastle United head coach made it clear he was “excited

for whoever we get”- and there is

certainly no danger of his side underestimating Qarabag. The competition newcomers may have been hammered 6-0 by

Liverpool earlier this week, but that does not tell the full story. Qarabag won three of their eight league phase fixtures –

beating Benfica, Eintracht Frankfurt and Copenhagen – and even held a much-changed

Chelsea side to a draw in Baku. So Howe will again have to strike a delicate balance with his

changes as he did in Paris midweek. But Newcastle should have more than enough to get through if

they play with that same spirit. Click 'Get Involved' to have your say Benfica v Real Madrid. Tasty! Can Jose do it again? Revenge could be sweet on Madrid's side though. Shaun Gascoyne Click 'Get Involved' to have your say I actually wish we were playing Qarabag at home first. Could put all our effort into building a strong lead and hopefully rest a few for the hefty return leg.

Having said that, the way we've played this season, we could either beat Qarabag 4-0 away or lose 4-0. Mark Champions League And here's the Champions League play-off draw for you to cast your eyes upon in full. A trip to Azerbaijan for Newcastle and a rematch of the thrilling Benfica v Real Madrid tie that we saw in the league phase. Not too bad, at all. Silver pathway Blue pathway Click 'Get Involved' to have your say Jose couldn't do it again. .. could he? Harry That concludes the draw for the Champions League knockout play-offs. Some tasty ties there. Happy with Qarabag, Newcastle fans? Bodo/Glimt v Inter Milan Take that Jose? A repeat of Benfica's dramatic 4-2 win at home to Real Madrid in their final league phase game would be a great start. Benfica v Real Madrid Missed one. .. Monaco v Paris St-Germain Qarabag v Newcastle Club Brugge v Atletico Madrid Galatasaray v Juventus Olympiakos v Bayer Leverkusen First tie. .. Borussia Dortmund v Atalanta Robert Pires has absolutely nailed the smile down the camera lens after the team reveal. Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.