Statistics show that Celtic have been handed a NIGHTMARE Europa League draw

Celtic fans are well versed when it comes to a campaign in the Europa League. This will be the sixth time out of the last nine that the Hoops have ended up in UEFA's second-tier tournament, with their last six Champions League qualifying attempts all ending in failure. Tuesday night's capitulation against LASK though was, by some distance, the most ignominious of the lot.

Nevertheless, as always, life goes on and Celtic fans, even if with little enthusiasm, turned their attention to Friday's Europa League draw, and this is who the Hoops will be up against.

Celtic's 8 UEFA Europa League opponents

Home

• Pot 1: Olympique de Marseille

• Pot 2: Ferencváros

• Pot 3: Celta de Vigo

• Pot 4: Beşiktaş

Away

• Pot 1: Benfica

• Pot 2: Royale Union Saint-Gilloise

• Pot 3: Omonia

• Pot 4: Torreense

There is a pretty wide variety of opponents in there, including five clubs the Celts have never previously faced, namely Marseille, Torreense, Beşiktaş, Royale Union Saint-Gilloise and Omonia. The latter will be their first-ever tie against a Cypriot club.

This though begs the question, how difficult is the draw? Well, according to Football Rankings, Celtic have the third-hardest fixture list of any club competing in the Europa League. Their data believes that the Scottish champions are only behind Real Sociedad and the aforementioned Beşiktaş

We don't want to question their methodology, because measuring team strength when not all clubs are playing one-another, is a difficult and abstract concept, but we're not so sure. So, to examine this, we're going to run through the four pots, comparing the teams Celtic will face to those they avoided.

Pot 1: Marseille (H) and Benfica (A)

Of the nine Pot 1 teams, the UEFA five-year Coefficient Ranking has Benfica second, behind only Bayer Leverkusen, while Olympique de Marseille were the lowest-ranked side to make the top pot. On the pitch, the weakest teams in Pot 1 are likely to be AZ Alkmaar and Olympiacos, while A.C. Milan, Juventus, Olympique Lyonnais and Leverkusen, you would imagine, will be the strongest.

So, in terms of pot 1 teams, Celtic's difficult level is pretty middling, even if both will be challenging, especially the visit to Estádio da Luz. Marco Silva's side won all three qualifiers in Lisbon during the summer, scoring 14 goals, including hammering Hearts 6-1, with Celtic desperate to avoid a something similar.

Pot 2: Ferencváros (H) and Union Saint-Gilloise (A)

This duo clubs are ranked first and third by UEFA, among teams in Pot 2. All the clubs in this section are a much of a muchness, with very little to seperate them. Facing Royale Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium will not be easy, although it'll be helped by the fact that their home stadium does not mee UEFA requirements. Thus, the tie will be played at Den Dreef in Leuven, 19 miles outside of Brussels.

Pot 3: Celta Vigo (H) and Omonia (A)

From Pot 3, Celtic actually landed the two lowest-ranked teams. They avoided the Premier League trio of Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth, as well as Sturm Graz and Jagiellonia Białystok, both of whom have dumped out Scottish opposition already this season.

Celta Vigo though are possibly the strongest Pot 3 team, having reached last season's quarter-finals. Omonia though are among the section weakest options. Excluding qualifiers, the Cypriot side, once managed by Neil Lennon, have won just five of their last 33 European matches, losing 19, so if Celtic are a serious side, they'll go to Nicosia and win.

Pot 4: Beşiktaş (H) and Torreense (A)

Lastly, pot 4 produced a mixed bag. Admittedly, alongside Hoffenheim, Turkish side Beşiktaş were the ones everyone wanted to avoid, but at least they'll welcome the Black Eagles to Glasgow. On the flip side, without taking anything for granted, Torreense are the team everyone wanted to face.

Luís Tralhão's side are competing in a European competition for the very first time, after winning May's Taça de Portugal, beating Sporting CP 2-1 after extra time, in one of the biggest upsets you'll ever see. Why was this such a shock? Well, Torreense are a second-tier club, subsequently defeated in the Liga Portugal 2 play-offs by Casa Pia a few days after their cup triumph, so they'll be playing in the Europa League and second division simultaneously.

Torreense's tiny stadium also does not meet UEFA requirements, so will instead play at Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, which is 61 miles north of their usual home. The 24,000 capacity stadium in Leiria is likely to be a sea of Celtic fans, whenever this fixture is played.

All in all, while there are some tough games on the cards, there are also plenty that are winnable, so Celtic should accumulate more than enough points to progress into the knockouts.

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