Champions League play-off draw: Newcastle to face Qarabag, Real Madrid and Benfica rematch as Monaco and PSG to clash in all-French tie

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Newcastle will face a trip to Azerbaijan and Qarabag for their UEFA Champions League play-off first leg. Eddie Howe's side entered the play-offs after a 1-1 draw with PSG in Paris on Wednesday. The reigning champions also missed out on the top eight and will face Monaco in an all-French affair. Real Madrid and Benfica will clash again after their dramatic match in the matchweek eight.

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Newcastle will face Qarabag in their UEFA Champions League play-off tie, while Real Madrid and Benfica will have a rematch.

The Magpies put in an assured performance to draw 1-1 with reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain, but it was not enough to join the other five Premier League clubs in the top eight and avoid the play-offs.

They will now face the daunting task of a trip to Azerbaijan for the first leg against Qarabag, before welcoming them to St James' Park for the second leg.

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In another notable clash, Benfica will face Real Madrid after their dramatic 4-2 win over Los Blancos, thanks to Anatoliy Trubin's 98th minute header, which saw them sneak into the 24th and final qualifying spot.

PSG meanwhile face Ligue 1 side Monaco in an all-French affair.

Newcastle were placed into the blue pathway, while Real Madrid and PSG were placed on the silver pathway, meaning Eddie Howe's men cannot face either side until the final.

Elsewhere on the blue pathway and joining Newcastle, Club Brugge face Atletico Madrid after their 3-0 dismantling of Marseille, Bodo/Glimt, fresh from fairytale wins over Manchester City and Atletico, will meet last year's runners-up Internazionale, while Olympiacos and Bayer Leverkusen also face off.

The silver pathway contains some big hitters and will likely be the side teams want to avoid, with Monaco and PSG alongside Real Madrid and Benfica joined by Juventus, who face Galatasaray and Borussia Dortmund, who will play Atalanta.

There will be a further draw following the play-off to determine who the remaining eight teams - Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Tottenham, Barcelona, Chelsea, Sporting CP and Manchester City - will face.

With the league phase placings having a bearing on who plays who, the main takeaway from that draw will be which side of the draw those eight teams go on to.

We know that Arsenal will face the winner of Borussia Dortmund v Atalanta or Olympiacos v Bayer Leverkusen, with Bayern Munich facing the other team.

Liverpool and Tottenham will face either Galatasaray, Juventus, Club Brugge or Atletico Madrid, while Chelsea and Barcelona will meet one of Monaco, PSG, Newcastle and Qarabag.

Manchester City, winners in 2023, and Sporting CP will play either Benfica, Real Madrid, Bodo/Glimt or Inter.

The first leg of the play-off matches will take place on February 17 and 18, with the second legs taking place the following week.

Those remaining eight teams will then find out their fate on February 27 at the next UEFA draw.

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