With eight games guaranteed in the Champions League this season, Celtic fans have a lot to look forward to in the revamped tournament.
Manager Brendan Rodgers has already made it his stated aim to turn that into at least ten matches with progression to the top 24 playoffs.
Clubs finishing 9th to 24th in the new 36-team table make that stage, with the winners of eight two-legged ties joining those finishing 1st to 8th in the last 16.
Celtic have failed to make it past the initial phase of the Champions League since 2012 so there’s natural trepidation about their chances this season despite a favourable draw.
However, stat company Opta have run 10,000 simulations for this season’s tournament and determined that it’s more likely than not that the Bhoys will end up a top-24 side.
Celtic’s projected Champions League points
They’ve published the results of their ‘supercomputer’ projection with Celtic earning an average of 9.7 points in the league phase from their simulations.
That gives Rodgers’ side a 57.2% chance of qualifying for the play-off, say the stat-trackers.
It’s said that Celtic’s draw was actually the ‘easiest’ of all 36 teams based on opponents’ strength in their global club rankings.
Celtic’s average opponent rating is just 87.4, compared to 92.4 for the club with the harshest draw – Paris Saint-Germain.
European joy for Bhoys won’t be earned on paper
This is all just for talking, of course. We know how difficult football at this level can be and that Rodgers’ team need to play at their absolute pinnacle to move forward.
All eight of the teams that Celtic face can beat the Bhoys on their day, there’s little doubt about that.
However, it’s become clear that the players shouldn’t feel out of place at this level either. They have nothing to fear here. They are one of the fancied sides to progress and should take confidence from that.
Backed by a hyped up crowd next Wednesday night we’re about to find out just what kind of progress this team has made under Rodgers.
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