Celtic now have a clearer picture of potential opponents in the UEFA Champions League group stages, though the club’s seeding won’t be confirmed until after the qualifying process.
The Bhoys have automatically booked their place in the groups after winning the Scottish Premiership again but could be placed in pot three or four, depending on who else makes it through to the big money stage.
With a number of leagues finishing or drawing to a close around Europe, Celtic do at least have a firmer grasp on who else is entering the group stage with 25 teams now confirmed including Ange Postecoglou’s side.
Celtic’s UEFA Champions League opponents
The complete list at this stage, by pot and co-efficient order, is: Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, Benfica, Napoli, Inter Milan, Feyenoord, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig, Porto, Arsenal, Shakhtar Donetsk, RB Salzburg, Milan, Lazio, Red Star Belgrade, Real Sociedad, Celtic, Newcastle United, Union Berlin, Lens.
Roma or Sevilla will also qualify depending on who wins Wednesday night’s UEFA Europa League final. A further six teams will join the party from a summer qualifying gauntlet, which Celtic have avoided for the second year in a row.
Celtic’s chances of making pot three are very slim, being placed in the bottom pot is far more likely meaning we are set to avoid playing Josip Juranovic’s Union Berlin, Eddie Howe’s Newcastle and Lens of France.
As always, there’s a pretty big variation in the type of group we could end up with. It could look as scary as Manchester City, Real Madrid and Milan, or we could end up with a kinder mix of teams such as Benfica, Shakhtar Donetsk and Red Star Belgrade – obviously, whoever we face, it will be far from easy.
The draw is due to take place in three months’ time on August 31st, so there’s a long way to go before Celtic participation becomes relevant – but the qualifying rounds will be worth keeping an eye on.
In other news, Kyogo’s final European Golden Boot tally; Celtic striker mixes company with big names.
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