Celtic draw Slavia Prague in Playoff Round of Champions League

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - JULY 17: (EDITOR'S NOTE: Image was created as an Equirectangular Panorama. Import image into a panoramic player to create an interactive 360 degree view.) A general view of Celtic Park during the UEFA Champions League First Qualifying Round 2nd Leg match between Celtic and FC Sarajevo at Celtic Park Stadium on July 17, 2019 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - JULY 17: (EDITOR'S NOTE: Image was created as an Equirectangular Panorama. Import image into a panoramic player to create an interactive 360 degree view.) A general view of Celtic Park during the UEFA Champions League First Qualifying Round 2nd Leg match between Celtic and FC Sarajevo at Celtic Park Stadium on July 17, 2019 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

Celtic FC drew Slavia Prague for the Playoff Round of the Champions League if they can defeat CFR Cluj over the course of two legs in the Third Qualifying Round.

Celtic FC will need to defeat CFR Cluj over the course of two legs, one away and one home leg in order to advance to the Champions League Playoff Round. If Celtic can pull of the feat, they will face Czech Republic champions Slavia Prague.

Slavia Prague was awarded a direct entry into this year’s Champions League Playoff Round. Slavia Prague won their fifth domestic title last year, and present a formidable challenge to Celtic FC. Slavia Prague may be recognizable to some fans as they are the club that reached last year’s Europa League quarter-finals where they lost to the English Premier League giants Chelsea FC.

Ryan Christie of Celtic (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)
Ryan Christie of Celtic (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

If Celtic FC loses on aggregate to the Romanian champs CFR Cluj, then Celtic will fall down into the Europa League Playoff Round. A Celtic defeat to CFR Cluj would be heartbreaking for the squad and fans who have such high hopes for the current season. Celtic would face either Sheriff Tiraspol of Moldova or AIK of Sweden in the Playoff Round of the Europa League if they were to face defeat.

However, despite how daunting the media has made CFR Cluj out to be, the current Celtic squad has an undeniable level of talent. This level of talent could see Celtic FC into the Group Stage of the Champions League for the first time since 2017. That being said, if Celtic cannot defeat the Romanian side over the course of two legs, they do not deserve nor belong in the Group Stage of the Champions League this year.

Extra Time:

·      First and foremost, we want to give a shout out to all of our fans and readers. We have exceeded all of our short term goals that we set out for ourselves for the entirety of August in just THREE days. Thank you so much.

·      In preparation of Wednesday’s match against CFR Cluj, we would like the readers and fans to know that you can count on The Celtic Bhoys to continue delivering on great match day coverage. On Wednesday we will have another live blog, Twitter stream, and information on how to access the match.

·      Less than four days remain in the EPL transfer window. Tierney is still with the Hoops. The rumors and drama will only grow from this point on.