Celtic learn their 5 potential Champions League play-off opponents as qualifying continues

Here we go again Celtic fans. It is that time of year again. The Hoops are on the cusp of a return to the Champions League league phase, needing just to win a two-legged tie next month to achieve this. Whoever they face, Martin O'Neill's team will be favourites. Sounds simply?

Well, any Celtic supporter will know this could not be further from the truth. Each of the Celts' last five, as well as seven of their last nine, Champions League qualification campaigns have ended in disaster. Since 2014, they have suffered defeats at the hands of Maribor, Malmö, AEK Athens, Cluj, Ferencváros, Midtjylland and, most-recently and most embarrassingly of all, Kairat, crashing out on penalties in Almaty last August.

Well, the identity of the side standing between the Scottish Champions and the pinnacle of European football will soon be revealed, with it having now been narrowed down to seven potential opponents.

Champions League play-off round seeding

Celtic are guaranteed to be seeded in the draw, currently 53rd in the UEFA Coefficient ranking, the third-highest of any club featuring in the Champions Path section of qualification.

When is the Champions League play-off round draw?

The UEFA Champions League play-off round draw takes place in Nyon at 11am on Monday 3 August.

How can I watch the Champions League play-off round draw?

The UEFA Champions League play-off round draw will be available to watch live on TNT Sports and HBO Max in the UK, as well as on UEFA's official website anywhere around the world.

Celtic's potential opponents

Viking

If you thought Bodø/Glimt were impressive last season, enjoying Champions League wins over Man City, Atlético Madrid and Inter twice to reach the last 16, well they did not even win the Norwegian title. The 2025 Eliteserien champions are Viking, finishing one point above Bodø/Glimt after a dramatic final day. Right now, mid-way through the current campaign, the pair are neck and neck.

This was Viking's first league title since 1991 and, as such, they have very little European pedigree. The Mørkeblå's (Dark Blues) sole appearance in any group stage came in the UEFA Cup in 2005, losing four of eight qualifiers subsequently, including being dumped out by Aberdeen in 2020. Nevertheless, if Celtic are heading to Stavanger, that is unlikely to be a straight-forward task.

LASK

There was also a surprise title triumph in Austria last season. RB Salzburg's streak of ten in a row came to an end by virtue of successive successes by Sturm Graz. Then, LASK were crowned champions for only the second time, and first since 1965. In the interveening six decades, they'd only finished as runners-up once.

Nevertheless, die Schwarz-Weißen have become a familiar face in European football in recent years, featuring in the Europa League three times and the Conference League twice since 2019. They were dumped out in the Champions League play-off round by Club Brugge seven years ago, but Dietmar Kühbauer will believe he can make history with LASK. They are certainly a team to avoid in the draw.

Celje or Ararat-Armenia

Now we come to a first either-or possibility, Without wanting to skip ahead, this is surely the pairing Celtic fans will be hoping to be drawn against on Monday. Celje beat Egnatia Rrogozhinë on penalties in the second qualifying round, after a thrilling 5-5 draw, while Ararat-Armenia have narrowly ousted Rīga FC and Shamrock Rovers to get this far. Neither though boast outstanding European pedigree.

Celje won a third Slovenian PrvaLiga title in seven seasons last year, featuring in the Conference League in both of the last two campaigns, getting to the quarter-finals in 2024/25. However, this run to the third qualifying round is already their best at Champions League level, so Celtic would surely be favourites if they encountered Vítor Campelos' Yellow and Blues.

Ararat-Armenia meantime are now guaranteed to qualify for a UEFA group stage for the very first time, with all three competitions still a possibility. Prior to this season, they'd won just three of their last eight European ties, having been founded as recently as 2017. In summary, whoever comes through this match-up, will probably be the weakest team in the unseeded section of the draw.

Kairat Almaty or Levski Sofia

You just know it's going to happen again, don't you? As already mentioned, 12 months ago, it was Kairat who shattered Celtic's Champions League dreams. The pair failed to score a goal between them in over three and a half hours of play, before the Kazakh champions won on penalties; Adam Idah, Luke McCowan and Daizen Maeda all failing to convert. As well as the trauma, a rematch would see Celtic once again travel 3,500 miles east to Almaty, something they'd rather avoid, all of which makes this a nightmare draw but, for that reason, is essentially guaranteed to come to pass.

Well, for that to even be a possibility, Kairat would have to take care of Levski Sofia. Last season, they won a first Bulgarian title in 17 years, ending Ludogorets' streak of 14 in a row, which equalled the world record. This summer, by dumping out Borac Banja Luka and Universitatea Craiova, the Blues are guaranteed to reach a UEFA group stage for the first time since 2010, dreaming of ending their two decade long Champions League exile. Whoever prevails, were they to draw Celtic on Monday, would provide a raucous atmosphere and a gruelling journey east.

AGF Aarhus or Sabah

Lastly, both of these two teams have upset the odds in Champions League qualifying already, so could either make it into the league phase. AGF won the won a first Danish Superligaen title for 40 years later season, and are now guaranteed for feature in a major UEFA group stage for the very first time. That is because, the Århus-based side knocked out Lech Poznań in simply extraordinary circumstances in the second qualifying round. Despite losing 4-1 at their temporary home in Randers, Jakob Poulsen's side then won 4-1 in Poland, before prevailing on penalties.

Sabah meantime founded just eight years ago, won the Azerbaijani Premier League for the first time last season. This summer, Valdas Dambrauskas' side have taken care of The New Saints and KuPS. Based in Masazır, just outside Baku, this is another potentally long trip east for the Celts.

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