Basaksehir draw Sevilla in their first ever Champions League playoff draw
Basaksehir were matched up against La Liga giants Sevilla in their first ever Champions League playoff draw.
The Istanbul minnows booked a place in the playoffs after beating Club Brugge 5-3 on aggregate – 3-3 draw in Belgium, following by a 2-0 win in Istanbul.
Sevilla meanwhile booked a place directly in the playoffs after finishing the league in fourth place.
Simon Kjaer will be familiar with Basaksehir from his stint at Fenerbahce.
The Denmark international joined Sevilla from the Yellow Canaries just last week and will be eligible to play in the tie.
Basaksehir may be new to this stage but they have several players with experience at the highest level such as Emmanuel Adebayor and Gael Clichy.
The Istanbul based outfit finished last season as Super Lig runners-up and reached the Turkish Cup final.
Abdullah Avci’s side developed a reputation as giant killers after beating league giants Galatasaray and Fenerbahce last season.
The full draw is as follows:
Qarabag vs Copenhagen
APOEL vs Slavia Prague
Olympiacos vs Rijeka
Celtic vs Astana
Happoel Beer-Sheva vs Maribor
Basaksehir vs Sevilla
Young Boys vs CSKA
Napoli vs Nice
Hoffenheim vs Liverpool
Sporting vs FCSB