As a Celtic supporter, there’s a fair chance you’ve heard by now about the UEFA Champions League’s new format.
Next summer, the competition will undergo its biggest change since 1992. The group stage will be no more, replaced by a single league system. It’s a brilliant or awful move, depending on where you come down on things.
The good news from a Celtic point of view is that, for now, we will qualify for the competition proper if we can win this season’s Premiership. With a whopping seven-point advantage after just eight games, it’s fair to say that things are looking good in that regard.
If we do continue our relentless form and clinch another league title, we will be one of 36 teams in the new Champions League. We’ll have eight games to look forward to rather than the current six, and those will all take place against different sides, as opposed to the current three.
The new format may be a full year away, but Twitter account Football Rankings have taken a look at what the competition would look like if leagues around Europe finished as they are now.
Of course, summer qualifying is also factored into the final projection seen below.
As a pot four side we would be drawn to face two teams from each pot including our own — with one side from each pot at home, and the other away.
So, based on the current situation, we our fixtures could look something like: Bayern Munich (away), Barcelona (home), Napoli (away), Feyenoord (home), Dinamo Zagreb (away), AC Milan (home), Nice (away), Fiorentina (home).
Should another Scottish side qualify, we wouldn’t be able to face them in the group stage. But all of the knockout rounds would be fair game.
It’s all pretty exciting, and it will be ours if we win the league for a third successive season.
In other news, Aaron Mooy seems to be loving life after Celtic
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