Napoli, Athletic Bilbao to go head to head in Champions League playoff

The Champions League playoff round has drawn up an interesting tie between Napoli and Athletic Bilbao.

The third-placed Serie A side from last season, who are led by manager Rafael Benitez, will face the Spanish team for the first time in a competitive fixture.

The duo will fight for a place in the group phase of the elite competition, with Napoli welcoming Bilbao to San Paolo on August 19/20 and then flying to Spain for the return leg a week later.

Meanwhile, Arsenal have been drawn against Turkish side Besiktas, while Celtic will face Maribor after they were reinstated into the competition after Legia Warsaw were thrown out for fielding an ineligible player in the qualifying round.

Champions League playoff draw in full:

League Route

Besiktas vs. Arsenal Standard Liege vs. Zenit St Petersburg FC Copenhagen vs. Bayer Leverkusen Lille vs. Porto Napoli vs. Athletic Bilbao

Champions Route

Maribor vs. Celtic Salzburg vs. Malmo Aalborg vs. APOEL Nicosia Steaua Bucharest vs. Ludogorets Slovan Bratislava vs. BATE Borisov