Leverkusen draw Lazio in Champions League

Friday's draw in Nyon, Switzerland couldn't have yielded a tougher opponent for Leverkusen than Lazio. The Romans came in third in Italy's Serie A last year and feature one very familiar face, all-time leading German national-team goal-scorer Miroslav Klose.

While Bastian Schweinsteiger's Manchester United drew a relatively easy foe in Club Brugge, Leverkusen are going to have to be at the top of their game if they're to book their spot in club football's premier competition.

Still Leverkusen players were trying to stress the positives of a tough tie. Midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu, for instance, wrote on Twitter: "An exciting duel. It could have been simpler but we'll have to stick together and get through it."

Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt was also upbeat.

"It's not a shock - I always assume the worst in such circumstances," Schmidt said. "The chances are 50-50, and we have the advantage of playing the second match at home."

Leverkusen will travel to the Italian capital for the first leg of their playoff on Tuesday, August 18. Lazio will visit Germany in the return leg on Wednesday, August 26.

The draw was far kinder to Dortmund who will have a home-and-away tie with little-known Norwegian side Odds Ballklub, also known as Odd. Thomas Tuchel's men head to Norway for the first match on August 20, with the return leg following one week later in Dortmund.

Bookies have made Dortmund 7-1 favorites to beat Odds.

All the Champions League qualifiers:

Astana(Kazakhstan) v APOEL Nicosia (Cyprus)

Skenderbeu (Albania) v Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)

Celtic (Scotland) v Malmo (Sweden)

Basel (Switzerland) v Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel)

BATE Borisov (Belarus) v Partizan Belgrade (Serbia)

Lazio (Italy) v Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)

Manchester United (England) v Club Bruges (Belgium)

Sporting Lisbon (Portugal) v CSKA Moscow (Russia)

Rapid Vienna (Austria) v Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)

Valencia (Spain) v Monaco (France)