Fiorentina anxiously await the Champions League preliminary round draw that could pair them with Arsenal or Lyon, but there is a boost for Juventus.
The new system means only one of the Serie A sides must go through this stage of the competition, but it has also been made more difficult.
The Viola are not seeds in the draw, so they will be matched with one of Arsenal, Lyon, Stuttgart, Panathinaikos and Sporting Lisbon.
Shakhtar Donetsk were going to be in the list, but the UEFA Cup holders were surprisingly knocked out by Romanians Timosoara.
Another knock-on effect of Shakhtar’s elimination is that a seed spot is freed in the group stage draw, which will be held on August 27 in Montecarlo.
Juventus are therefore bumped up to second seed status, joining Inter, Porto and Real Madrid, so they cannot face the Merengues in this phase.
Fiorentina are in the same non-champions path group as Celtic, Athletico Madrid, Timisoara and Anderlecht.
The draw for the play-off round is on Friday at 11.00 UK time.