Celtic already know that they will be welcoming St Johnstone back to Celtic Park next season after they secured the Scottish Championship, but if another side can come through the play-offs, they are likely to face a team they have not come across in a while.
While the Hoops are locked in a title race with Hearts and Rangers, the club from Perth won the second tier at a canter and will be back in the Scottish Premiership for next season.
For travelling Celtic fans, it is a return to a stadium that they have become familiar with over the years, and doesn’t get many excited. However, there are several teams in the frame to compete in the play-offs who the Bhoys haven’t faced in a league campaign for many years. 67 Hail Hail profiles each of those teams.
Your first thought when you see the fixtures…
How many points will we pick up?
Partick Thistle remain the most recent but still absent opponent
Partick Thistle sit second in the Championship and are firmly in the promotion race based on the current league standings. Despite that position, they last faced Celtic in the SPFL in 2017, which already places the fixture outside the current league cycle.
That gap highlights how quickly even regular top-flight opponents disappear. An eight-year absence now defines what was once a routine Premiership fixture, but they have met in the cup competitions, with Sebastian Tounekti scoring his first goal for Celtic against Partick.
Arbroath’s promotion push could revive a 50-year-old fixture
Arbroath are third in the table and remain in the play-off positions according to the latest standings. Their last league meeting with Celtic dates back to 1975, based on archived results.
A gap of that length is not just rare, it is historic. Promotion would not create a new fixture, but revive one that has been absent for half a century.
Dunfermline’s absence shows how quickly fixtures fall away
Dunfermline are fourth in the table and remain in contention for the promotion play-offs within the Championship structure. Their last league meeting with Celtic came in 2012, 14 years ago.
That near two-decade gap underlines how quickly clubs can fall out of the top tier. It also shows how long it takes for those fixtures to return.
Before any chance of that, a Scottish Cup final clash awaits where Neil Lennon and Martin O’Neill will meet in a master vs apprentice situation.
Raith Rovers have been missing from the top level for a generation
Raith Rovers sit in mid-table, just outside of the play-off spots. Their last league meeting with Celtic was in 1997, as recorded in fixture history.
That places the fixture firmly outside the modern Premiership era. It is no longer a recent matchup, but one that belongs to a different generation of Scottish football.
Queen’s Park stand as the most distant Celtic opponent
Queen’s Park sit in the middle of the current standings, representing one of the oldest clubs in the Scottish game. Their last league meeting with Celtic came in 1958.
No modern Premiership meeting exists between the sides. This is the clearest example of a fixture that has been entirely lost to time and, even though they have met in friendlies, a league game is a different kettle of fish.
Ayr United represent another long-lost top flight meeting
Ayr United are positioned in the lower half of the Championship table, outside the immediate promotion picture. Their last league match against Celtic came in 1978.
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There will also be no chance to face Scott Brown after he was sacked by Ayr.
They are some way off the other sides in the race for the play-offs though therefore, barring a miracle, a visit to Somerset Park seems to be off the cards for now.
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