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Liverpool is set to find out its Champions League journey next week, with a potential surprise reunion on the horizon following the completion of the first leg of the playoffs.
Simon Mignolet, a former Red who made 204 appearances over six years, aided Club Brugge in securing an unexpected 3-1 victory against Rangers at Ibrox on Tuesday, putting the Belgians in a favorable position to advance. Ex-Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, currently in his second stint at Celtic, faces a tougher challenge as the Glasgow team was held to a goalless draw at home by underdogs FC Kairat from Kazakhstan.
Another Anfield-linked manager, former Reds striker Robbie Keane, witnessed his Ferencvaros team, which included Naby Keita as an unused substitute, suffer a 3-1 defeat at home to Qarabag of Azerbaijan.
The Champions League proper is likely to see a new entrant in the form of Bodo/Glimt, a Norwegian team that has never progressed beyond the playoffs but did reach the Europa League semifinals last season. Bodo/Glimt thrashed Sturm Graz of Austria 5-0.
With seven clubs moving from the playoffs to the league stage, the remaining three ties hang in the balance. Basel and Copenhagen ended in a 1-1 draw, while Fenerbahce and Benfica played out a goalless draw in Turkey.
However, there was a shock result when Cypriot side Pafos, making its Champions League debut, triumphed 2-1 at Red Star Belgrade.
The second legs are set to take place next Tuesday and Wednesday, with the draw for the league stage scheduled in Monaco next Thursday at 6pm.
Just like last season, a total of 36 teams will comprise the initial league stage. Each team will face eight different opponents, with four matches at home and four away.
Teams from the same country won't be pitted against each other, with the draw for the fixtures divided into teams playing two opponents from each of the four pots, which are determined by UEFA coefficient, the record of each club in European competition over the past five years.
Liverpool already knows it is in pot one, where it'll be joined by English rivals Manchester City and Chelsea, Spanish powerhouses Real Madrid and Barcelona, German outfits Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, and this season's finalists PSG and Inter.
The remaining Premier League clubs - Arsenal, Tottenham, and Newcastle - are provisionally in pots 2, 3, and 4, respectively, while Atletico Madrid, Villarreal, and Athletic Bilbao have all qualified from Spain.
Italy is further represented by Napoli, Atalanta, and Juventus, while Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt round off the German quartet.
PSV and Ajax have qualified from Holland, Marseille and Monaco are in from France, and Sporting Lisbon from Portugal.
Olympiakos of Greece, Slavia Prague of Czechia, Turkish side Galatasaray, and Belgian outfit Union Saint-Gilloise make up the remainder.
The final of this season's Champions League is set to unfold in Budapest on 30 May.
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