Champions League qualifying draw: Liverpool to face Hoffenheim while Celtic play Astana to get through to group stage
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LIVERPOOL will play Hoffenheim in Champions League qualifying while Celtic will play Kazakh side Astana.
Roberto Firmino will face his former club to qualify for the group stages of Europe's premier football competition.
The Brazilian will face the Bundesliga side he netted 38 times for during his four-year career at the club.
Meanwhile, Brendan Rodgers' Celtic will feel they can qualify for the group stages if they beat Astana on their artificial pitch at Astana Arena.
The 30,000-seat stadium was opened in 2009 and the club played in the Champions League in 2015/16 where they finished bottom of Group C with four draws.
Elsewhere in the draw Napoli face Nice in one of the plum ties of the draw.
Meanwhile Turkish outfit Istanbul Basaksehir play Sevilla.
Any side that wins their tie will qualify for the Champions League group stage proper.
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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE THIRD ROUND QUALIFYING DRAW
- Qarabag vs Copenhagen
- Apoel vs Slavia Prague
- Olympiakos vs HNK Rijeka
- Celtic vs Astana
- Hapoel Beer-Sheva vs Maribor
- Istanbul Basaksehir vs Sevilla
- Young Boys vs CSKA Moscow
- Napoli vs Nice
- Hoffenheim vs Liverpool
- Sporting vs Steaua Bucharest
Celtic beat Rosenborg 1-0 on aggregate over two games in the second round and beat Northern Irish side Linfield 6-0 on aggregate in the previous round.
The Scottish champions were fined £20,615 by Uefa for displaying paramilitary-style banners in their second leg with Linfield at Celtic Park.
Then 12 men were later arrested over displaying the banners against the Ulster side, who have a Protestant affiliation and wear the same colours as the club's rivals Rangers.
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