Celta Vigo have been given a tricky trip to Greece as part of their Europa League play-off tie, as they seek to win their first knockout tie in Europe in a decade. The Galician side closed out their league phase in 16th spot, narrowly in the top half of the table.
Their opponents will be PAOK Salonika in the play-off round, who finished 17th in the table themselves, just a point behind Celta. The Greek side, who took part in a reassuring exchange of tributes with Real Betis in the league phase, will host the home leg first on the 19th of February, with the return coming on the 26th. PAOK have already demonstrated their credentials against Betis, who they beat 2-0 just last week.
The Europa League bracket
If they do get past PAOK, Celta will have one of the two toughest ties in the Round of 16, with first and second-seeded Olympique Lyon or Aston Villa awaiting. Real Betis on the other hand finished fourth in the league phase after their 2-1 win over Feyenoord on Thursday, and know that they will play one of Panathinaikos, Viktoria Plzen, Fenerbahce or Nottingham Forest, none of which are easy games on the face of it either. If they are drawn on the same side of the bracket, Celta and Betis would not meet until the semi-final.
Image via UEFA
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Celta Vigo form in Europe
Celta closed out their league phase with a 1-1 draw away at Crvena Zvzeda, following a stunning goal from returning loanee Fer Lopez. It was more up than down for Celta, who won four of their eight games, drawing once and losing three. Celta did beat PAOK 3-1 at home in October in an impressive performance at Balaidos. Their issue has been their away form, with just one win coming on their travels to Dinamo Zagreb.
Full Line-up of Europa League play-off fixtures
Ludogorets-Ferencvaros
Panathinaikos-Viktoria Plzen
Dinamo Zagreb-Genk
PAOK-Celta
Celtic-Stuttgart
Fenerbahce-Nottingham Forest
Brann-Bologna
Lille-Red Star