MATCHDAY: Champions League playoff round opens to decide last six entries in lucrative group stage
A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Tuesday:
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Six golden tickets to the Champions League group stage remain to be decided. First-leg games in three of the six playoff round pairings are scheduled, with three more starting on Wednesday. AEK Athens is away to Royal Antwerp just three days after advancing past Dinamo Zagreb in a delayed qualifier marred by the death of a Greek fan in violent street clashes before the scheduled first game. PSV Eindhoven, the 1988 European champion, hosts Rangers in the first leg and competition debutant Raków Częstochowa hosts Copenhagen in Poland. The six playoff winners next week enter the 32-team group-stage draw on Aug. 31 assured of about 18 million euros ($20 million) in UEFA prize money. Losers get 5 million euros ($5.5 million) and a place in the Europa League.
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