Celtic travel to Bologna this afternoon in the next fixture of their Europa League campaign as qualification hopes hang by a thread.
Martin O’Neill already knows the points tally Celtic need to get automatic qualification from the league phase of the Europa League.
Ten points will guarantee Celtic get into the knock-out phase with nine points also mooted as enough for the Parkhead club.
But what are the exact permutations Celtic fans need to look out for tomorrow night to give O’Neill the best chance of qualification heading into the final match with Utrecht at the end of the month?
Here, 67 Hail Hail takes a deep dive into all of tomorrow night’s fixtures to show how Celtic would be in the driving seat for the final January fixture.
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Celtic must beat Bologna to boost Europa League qualification hopes
First things first, Celtic need to look after their own business first and ensure that three points are picked up in Bologna.
The Italians know Celtic pose a threat under Martin O’Neill and will be expecting a tough game, especially after what happened in Rotterdam against Feyenoord.
Celtic beat Feyenoord comfortably as O’Neill showed he still has that touch of magic to produce results on the European stage.
So if Celtic can sneak a 1-0 win, that would put them in a guaranteed qualification spot if results elsewhere go their way.
The Europa League results Celtic need
We ran UEFA’s simulation tool to see what other results Celtic need to go their way to further increase their chances of getting out of the group more easily.
Based on Celtic beating Bologna, here is how the club could leave themselves with a great chance of getting a seeded qualification spot if these results happen:
- Feyenoord beat Sturm Graz
- Villa win at Fenerbache
- Betis beat PAOK
- Plzen draw with Porto
- Lyon win at Young Boys
- Freiburg beat Maccabi Tel-Aviv
- Malmo beat Crvena Zvezda
- Midtjylland beat Brann
- Stuttgart win at Roma
- Rangers beat Luogorets
- FSCB draw at Dinamo Zagreb
- Salzburg beat Basel
- Braga beat Nottingham Forest
- Ferencvaros draw with Panathinaikos
- Nice beat Go Ahead Eagles
- Lille draw at Celta
- Utrecht beat Genk
If that happens, Celtic will be on 10 points with qualification guaranteed but with only goal difference stopping them from placing in the seeded places.
A win against Utrecht at Celtic Park would take Celtic up to 13 points and, depending on results in the final games, the Bhoys could finish in the top ten.
Not bad for a campaign that looked dead in the water after the defeat to Braga.
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