Celtic’s route into the Champions League just got more dangerous thanks to Ange Postecoglou

Add as preferred source on Google

Celtic’s season has started to wind down, with the league wrapped up and just a Scottish Cup final ahead.

Therefore, the focus has started to turn on the summer and how to get the club best set up for success next season.

The Hoops have known since the start of the season that they’d be entering the Champions League via qualifiers thanks to Scotland’s UEFA coefficient ranking.

This means playing a two-legged play-off tie in August in order to enter the competition.

The new Champions League format has proven beneficial to Celtic, with the Bhoys having a much more successful spell in the competition than they’ve enjoyed in recent years.

Gabby Agbonlahor has predicted how Celtic would do in the Europa League, should they fail to make Europe’s elite competition.

With the added riches the Champions League brings, it’s important the club are in the best possible position to win the play-off and enter the main phase.

However, for all of the good Ange Postecoglou has done Celtic in the club’s recent history, he just played a part in harming their Champions League qualification chances for next season.

Ange Postecoglou just made it harder for Celtic to qualify for the Champions League

Celtic hero Ange Postecoglou led Tottenham Hotspur into the Europa League final by beating Bodo/Glimt last night.

While a lot of Hoops fans will be buzzing to see Ange get to another final, it has come at a cost to Celtic.

Currently, the Bhoys are projected to be unseeded for their play-off match to qualify for the Champions League.

This means they risk facing a tougher, seeded opponent in their bid to reach the tournament’s main phase.

With Ange’s Spurs beating Bodo/Glimt, Celtic have just lost one possible route to achieving seeded status: the Norwegian team winning the Europa League.

As Bodo/Glimt won their domestic league and with Norway’s strong coefficient ranking, they’re possible opponents for Celtic in the play-off round and will be seeded.

The other teams that are currently seeded ahead of the Hoops are Dinamo Zagreb, FC Copenhagen, Crvena Zvezda, and Ferencvaros.

As it stands, Celtic would need to beat one of those teams in order to qualify. However, it’s not impossible for Celtic to regain their seeded status.

How Celtic can become seeded for Champions League play-off qualifier

Celtic can still avoid the trickier unseeded route in the Champions League qualifiers, but it’s out of their hands.

In order for this to happen, two of the below five scenarios must occur:

• Rijeka or Hajduk Split win the Croatian league title ahead of Dinamo Zagreb, or Dinamo are eliminated in the Qualifying Round Two of the Champions League.
• Crvena Zvezda are knocked out in the Qualifying Round Two of the Champions League.
• Midtjylland win the Danish league title instead of FC Copenhagen, or Copenhagen are eliminated in the Qualifying Round Two of the Champions League.
• Puskas Academy or Paks win the Hungarian league title ahead of Ferencvaros, or Ferencvaros are eliminated in the Qualifying Round Two of the Champions League.
• Sturm Graz, Austria Vienna or Wolfsberger win the Austrian Bundesliga title instead of Salzburg.

The reason why some of these teams need to go through extra qualifiers, while Celtic go straight into the play-offs, is because their country has a weaker UEFA coefficient ranking.

The Croatian league has three games to play, with Dinamo Zagreb sitting in second place – one point behind Rijeka.

Dinamo Zagreb are currently the slight favourites for the title, with Rijeka and Hajduk Split having a tougher run-in.

As for the Danish Superliga, FC Copenhagen are currently top with just three games to go. Midtjylland are just one point behind.

The two teams are set to play each other this weekend in a match that could effectively decide the title. Copenhagen are currently favourites to win the league.

In Hungary, there’s also three games to go for all three challengers for the league title. Ferencvaros are top by three points.

Ferencvaros are currently heavy favourites to win the league, and it would be a major upset if they didn’t.

The last time they didn’t win the league was the 2017/18 season, so Celtic will likely need to hope they lose in the Qualifying Round Two of the Champions League.

The odds are a bit better for the Bhoys regarding the potential outcome of the Austrian Bundesliga.

Salzburg are currently in 4th place, four points off Sturm Graz in top, with three games to go.

This definitely offers hope for Celtic to regain their seeded status, but even if Salzburg fail to win, as mentioned they still need one other outcome to go their way in order to achieve it.