Who could Liverpool play in their Champions League qualifier?

A 3-0 victory was enough for Jurgen Klopp's men to seal fourth, but they still have work to do

Mark Critchley
Sunday 21 May 2017 11:44 EDT
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Georginio Wijnaldum's goal sent Liverpool on their way to the Champions League
Georginio Wijnaldum's goal sent Liverpool on their way to the Champions League (Getty)

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Liverpool confirmed a top-four finish and a place in next season's Champions League by beating Middlesbrough on the final day of the Premier League season.

A 3-0 victory was enough for Jürgen Klopp men to seal fourth, but they still have work to do if they wish to rub shoulders with the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Liverpool must see their way through the Champions League playoff round, a single two-legged tie against another team that failed to win their domestic league.

How does Champions League qualifying work?

As they play in one of Europe’s top leagues, Liverpool will be given a bye to the final qualifying round.

Those who finish fourth in La Liga and the Bundesliga, and those who finish third in Serie A and Portugal’s Primeira Liga also automatically enter the final round.

The other five teams will be the winners from the third qualifying round, which is made up of 10 teams from the following countries (positions in brackets):

France (3rd), Holland (2nd), Ukraine (2nd), Russia (2nd), Belgium (2nd), Czech Republic (2nd), Turkey (2nd), Switzerland (2nd), Romania (2nd), Greece (2nd).

Will Liverpool be seeded?

Yes, thanks to a result in the Russian Premier League on Sunday, they will be seeded in the draw for the final qualifying round.

Of all the clubs who could possibly compete in the final round, only four - Ajax, Sevilla, Napoli/Roma and Dynamo Kiev - possess higher coefficient rankings than Liverpool's 56.135. If all four were to reach the final round, Liverpool would still be seeded as the team with the fifth-highest coefficient.

Also, it's worth noting that if Ajax win the Europa League, they will qualify automatically for the group stages. Sporting, the club with the next highest coefficient, would then be seeded.

Liverpool could have been unseeded for the draw if Zenit St Petersburg had taken the final Champions League spot in Russia, but CSKA Moscow's 4-0 victory over Anzhi Makhachkala on Sunday ended Zenit's hopes of qualification.

Who could they play?

Several European leagues are yet to finish and final positions are to be confirmed, but as it stands, the following teams could qualify for the final Champions League non-champions playoff round.

Liverpool will play one of the unseeded teams.

Unconfirmed teams in italics; * = starts in third round

Seeded teams: Sevilla, Napoli/Roma, Dynamo Kiev*, Ajax*, Liverpool.

Unseeded teams: Sporting Lisbon, Viktoria Plzen*, CSKA Moscow*, Club Brugge*, Steaua Bucharest*, Young Boys*, Hoffenheim, Nice*, Istanbul Basaksehir/Besiktas*, PAOK/Panathinaikos*.

When will the qualifiers be held?

The first leg of the final qualifying round will be played on 15/16 August, with the return legs played the week after on 22/23 August.

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