Celtic draw Astana in Champions League Playoff round
Get ready to travel far and wide Celtic fans, because there’s some serious mileage coming our way in the Champions League playoff round.
For the second time in as many years, Celtic will take on Astana in a qualifier. Last season the two sides met in the third round of qualification, with the Hoops moving on by a narrow 3-2 aggregate.
This year, the two meet one round later with a lot more at stake. But, the draw could’ve been a lot worse for the Bhoys, with this being the second-best scenario of the five possible in our view.
Overall, the draw for the 10 total matches to be played over two legs on August 15/16 and 22/23 provided some intrigue.
The rest of the “champions” route went as follows:
- Qarabag vs. Copenhagen
- APOEL vs. Slavia Prague
- Olympiacos vs. Reijka
- Haopel Be’er Sheva vs. Maribor
Perhaps the most intriguing tie amongst this group is Hapoel Be’er Sheva vs. Maribor. The two sides are very similar in quality and it is a 50/50 scenario on who advances. I’m also personally intrigued by the Qarabag vs. Copenhagen tie, as I see both squads as much improved over last seasons editions and therefore difficult opponents for each other.
On the other end of the scale, Olympiacos has to be an overwhelming favorite to advance thanks to a matchup with Croatian champions and European unknowns Rijeka FC.
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Celtic must also keep an eye on what takes place in the other half of the Playoff round draw. Given a few results, Celtic could wind up in pot 3 of the group stage draw. That is certainly a bit more advantageous than having to wait it out in the final pot and basically get whatever spot is left over.
That didn’t work out so well last year, as Celtic found itself stuck in a group with Barcelona, Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund. It was certainly the “group of death” if you will, and getting to have your name called one pot earlier also means more options for groups you can qualify for.
Celtic’s rooting interest is for one of these four teams to drop a contest in the Playoff round: Olympiacos, Sevilla, Napoli or Liverpool.
We already know Olympiacos look like heavy favorites to move on with their draw of Rejika.
However, a look at the draw for the “league” route and there is a bit more hope. Here is how that draw played out:
- Istanbul Basaksehir vs. Sevilla
- Young Boys vs. CSKA Moscow
- Napoli vs. Nice
- Hoffenheim vs. Liverpool
- Sporting CP vs. FC Steaua Bucharest
If we’re looking for potential for Celtic to get in to pot 3 should we advance from this stage, well it is really easy to see it happening. That’s because of the juicy draw of German upstarts Hoffenheim vs. English side Liverpool. I mean, could there be more intrigue that Jurgen Klopp having to face a team from his home nation to qualify his current side for the Champions League proper?
Not to mention the fact that the two squads are pretty evenly matched in terms of quality from last season.
The one scenario that seems far-fetched is betting on Sevilla to get knocked out. It’ll be sad though, because the Spanish side seem like they just need the Europa League title back in the worst way possible.
Next: Scott Brown expects big challenge from Dons and Sevco
One thing is for sure, there are plenty of ties that could go either way, and us as football fans should be highly entertained by most of the matchups that were drawn today.