After a thrilling finish to the UEFA Champions League's first-ever league phase, the competition will gear up to hold its inaugural knockout phase playoffs with Friday's draw. The teams that finished from ninth through 24th in the league phase will take part in the knockout phase playoffs,

Harry Kane helps Bayern Munich to beat Slovan Bratislava but victory is only good enough to earn the German club a play-off spot in the.

The UEFA Champions League's first-ever league phase came to a dramatic close on Wednesday, setting up for an equally entertaining knockout stage that begins in two weeks' time. The introduction of the new format means the Champions League will introduce a new phase of competition in February when 16 teams will take part in the knockout round playoffs.

Follow live text commentary, score updates and match stats from Bayern Munich vs Slovan Bratislava in the UEFA Champions League

Bayern at least ensured they will be seeded in Friday's draw after beating Slovan Bratislava 3-1 on Wednesday, but their reward will be either City or Celtic

Pep Guardiola breathed a sigh of relief as Manchester City scraped into the Uefa Champions League play-offs with a 3-1 win over Club Brugge. City trailed their Belgian opponents at half time before Mateo Kovacic and the lively Savinho inspired a second-half comeback with a Joel Ordonez own goal sandwiched in between.

With a spot in the knockouts already secure, Bayern Munich have a chance to sneak into the top eight of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday when the league phase comes to a close. Bayern enter Matchday 8 in 15th place but are just one point shy of a spot in the top eight and so direct passageway to the round of 16 is a real possibility for Vincent Kompany's side.

Bayern are 15th in the standings after seven matches, one point below eighth-placed Bayer Leverkusen, and are guaranteed a place in the last 16 as they prepare to face a Bratislava side who have lost

Bayern Munich need a big win over Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday night to have any chance of securing a top-eight finish in the league phase of the Champions League.Interestingly, Bayern coach

After last week’s Champions League disaster-class vs. Feyenoord, Bayern Munich rebounded with a Bundesliga win over SC Freiburg. Now, though, the Bavarians will host Slovan Bratislava in a match they they need to win.