da blaze casino： Having successfully brushed off the threat of the Northern Irish, Norwegian and Kazakh champions this summer, Celtic can again look forward to elite European football until Christmas at least this season.
da realbet： It’s no mean feat for the Hoops to reach this stage two years in succession and competitive aspects aside, the financial windfall alone is enough to give supporters reason to celebrate wildly.
Excitement is now building ahead of Thursday’s draw for the group stages with Hoops fans compiling their dream draws and their nightmare draws. Brendan Rodgers’ side are in pot 4 of the draw meaning they’re really up against.
Whether fans are interested in the glamour ties or the more competitive ones, there’s plenty there to look forward to and regardless of who they draw, supporters are guaranteed some of those famous European nights at Celtic Park.
Away from your big teams like Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, we’re taking a more pragmatic view of the group stages for your benefit and have come up with the THREE teams Celtic fans should be hoping to draw for the best chance to progress into the last 16 or finish third and drop into the UEFA Europa League…
Pot 1 – Spartak Moscow
Pot 1 is the real wildcard of the UEFA Champions League draw these days. No longer made up of the top 8 ranked clubs in Europe, pot 1 now consists of the champions of the top 8 ranked leagues in Europe. It may seem like a small distinction but for a club like Celtic it could be the difference between being competitive for a last 16 finish and finding themselves settling for bonus points.
While it’s true there is no easy game in Europe, especially in this competition, we’re sure from a competitive viewpoint Celtic would rather be facing Spartak Moscow than the likes of English champions Chelsea or Spanish champions Real Madrid. Sure, it’s less glamorous, but it provides opportunities to progress.
In fact, Spartak haven’t reached the group stages of the competition since the two teams last met in 2012/13 when the Hoops progressed to the last 16 at the Russian side’s expense.
It was a Kris Commons penalty, as shown above, that sealed the deal to progress at Celtic Park in a 2-1 victory, after Georgios Samaras was the hero in Russia to secure a famous away victory.
Since then Spartak’s European fortunes have not been especially great, failing to make it past the UEFA Europa League qualifying campaign.
Compared to other potential opponents, this is the plum draw from pot 1.
Pot 2 – FC Porto
Pot 2 is where the real danger lies for Celtic and you would expect almost every team in this grouping to provide the toughest test in the competition for Brendan Rodgers’ team. From Barcelona to Manchester United to Paris Saint-Germain, the richest teams with the biggest pull lie at every turn.
However, there is one team that Celtic could be competitive with and that’s FC Porto. They might be an elite team and they would certainly be favourites for any match-up involving the Hoops, but in the past the Scottish champions have risen to the task against Portuguese opposition.
Celtic have faced Portuguese opposition six times at Celtic Park in UEFA competition since the turn of the century and are undefeated, winning five and drawing the other. Porto are one of the Hoops’ victims with Martin O’Neill’s side getting one over on them in 2001.
The one team Hoops fans don’t want to see from Pot 2 is Barcelona. Unbelievably Celtic have been drawn against the La Liga giants in their last three group stage campaigns.
Pot 3 – Anderlecht
Like pot 1, this section of the draw offers up competitive draws and very tough draws, although again it must be stressed that it’s difficult regardless.
If Celtic fans are looking for pure glamour and hype then a draw against Liverpool from pot 3 would probably be the most high profile, with Brendan Rodgers making a big return to Anfield and a ‘Battle of Britain’ occurring once again.
The prospect of a big match-up with Tottenham Hotspur appeals to the appetite too. The two sides have never met in UEFA competition and, a full, noisy Wembley with the two attacking teams going toe-to-toe would be a massive spectacle.
However, from a competitive viewpoint, the Hoops should be looking at less cash rich teams and Anderlecht would be our pick for the Hoops if they are looking for the ‘easiest’ draw.
The Belgian side haven’t been at this stage of the competition for three years and that could catch them cold under the bright lights of Celtic Park. Their success in Europe recently has been in the UEFA Europa League and you’d fancy Rodgers’ side to back themselves at that level and try and pip them into third place of the group, should they be drawn together.