Who can Celtic face in the Champions League knockout play-off? Potential opponents and fixtures dates
For the first time in 13 years Celtic fans have Champions League knockout football to look forward to.
Brendan Rodgers' Bhoys have looked at home in the revamped competition with a packed Parkhead enjoying a night to remember as the champions secured money-spinning progress in club football's most prestigious prize. The 1-0 victory over Young Boys was fraught with nerves but Adam Idah forced the own goal that separated the sides. But Celtic supporters won't just be happy to make out it the league phase, and the pressure will now be on to extend the run towards the last 16 - or even further now the first hurdle has been overcome.
The tournament's revamped style is confusing at the best of times, but at this phase - and with one matchday still remaining - things get even more complex, with the knockout fixture list not decided until the final matches are played - and the Hoops won't know if they will be seeded until they face Aston Villa.
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But Record Sport has crunched the numbers from Opta's supercomputer to identify who could be coming to Glasgow's East End next month. It estimates an 19th place finish for Celtic, leaving them unseeded, but plenty could still change with an action packed final matchday ahead.
Who can Celtic play in the Champions League play offs?
Ninth to 16th position in the table will be the seeded teams, while those finishing 17th to 24th will be unseeded. Celtic's result tonight means that they currently sit 18th in the table, which (as things stand) would set up a glamour clash with either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid. But plenty can still change on the final matchday. Juventus, for example, are still a possible opponent if they move from their unseeded spot (17th) next to Celtic. According to sports data analysts Opta, however, Celtic are predicted to finish in 19th place, meaning they are predicted to face one of either Bayern Munich or Brest (who are predicted to finish in the seeded 13th and 14th places).
The Opta supercomputer has predicted the final seeded play-off line up here:
Atalanta
Lille
Feyenoord
Borussia Dortmund
Bayern Munich
Brest
Monaco
Real Madrid
Who can Celtic not face in the Champions League?
Celtic won't be able to face any of the clubs who have automatically qualified for the last 16 - which is any side that ends the final matchday in the top eight of the table. Currently that includes:
Liverpool
Barcelona
A number of clubs have also already been knocked out, leaving them with no chance of reaching the play off stage, including some familiar foes:
Bologna
Sparta Prague
RB Leipzig
Girona
Red Star
Sturm Graz
Salzburg
Slovan Bratislava
Young Boys
When is the Champions League play off draw?
The draw will take place on Friday, January 31 at 11am UK time. We'll have full coverage of it right here on dailyrecord.co.uk with a live blog and all the best stories.
When are the Champions League play offs?
The knockout stage gets underway with the play off rounds, scheduled for Tuesday February 11 and Wednesday February 12 and the same days of the following week - February 18/19. If Celtic make it through, the date for your diaries is Tuesday March 4 and Wednesday March 5 for the first legs, and a week later for the second.
