Galatasaray Faces Young Boys in Crucial Champions League Playoff

Turkish champion Galatasaray will compete against Young Boys, last in the Swiss league, in a Champions League playoff. Both teams have struggled this season. The playoff winner will advance to the new Champions League format. The first leg is in Bern on August 20 or 21, and the return game is in Istanbul on August 27 or 28.

Turkish champion Galatasaray was drawn Monday against Young Boys, currently last in the Swiss league, in a playoff round to advance to the new Champions League format.

Neither team has started the season well. Galatasaray lost 5-0 Saturday in the domestic Super Cup against city rival Besiktas, and Young Boys is winless in four games to open defense of its Swiss league title.

Young Boys hosts the first leg of the playoff on August 20 or 21 in Bern, with the return game set for August 27 or 28 in Istanbul.

The winner advances to the new 36-team Champions League that no longer plays the first phase in traditional four-team groups. Instead, all teams will play eight games instead of six, from January instead of December, and are ranked in a single standings. The fixtures are drawn on August 29 in Monaco and start on September 17.

Seven entries will be decided in the playoff round, with the lineup determined by the third qualifying round which begins Tuesday. In the playoffs, Dinamo Zagreb will face Qarabag or Ludogorets, and Red Star Belgrade is away in the opening leg against Bodo/Glimt or competition debutant Jagiellonia Bialystok, the champion of Poland.

In a separate draw path for teams that did not win their domestic league, Fenerbahce, coached by Jose Mourinho, or Lille will play Slavia Prague or Union Saint-Gilloise. Salzburg, qualified for the 2025 Club World Cup, must get past Twente in the third qualifying round to earn a playoff against Dynamo Kyiv or Rangers. Teams that lose in the Champions League playoffs will enter the Europa League in September, which also expands to 36 teams in a single league standings.

(With inputs from agencies.)