Who could Celtic face in the ‘bigger and better’ Champions League?

The biggest competition in European club football just got bigger – and Celtic will be on the main stage when the new-look Champions League begins next month.

UEFA have expanded and reshaped their premier tournament, with the continent’s best facing each other in a new ‘league phase’ before knockout ties narrow the competition down to just two sides in next May’s final.

There will now be 189 games in the competition proper, up from 125 last year, but the biggest difference is that there is no longer a “group stage” with teams playing in a number of different small sections.

The governing body have now created a single league for the first stage of the competition, with every side playing eight matches against eight different teams, four home and four away.

Celtic are Scotland’s only representatives in the competition, and are sure of glamorous, and difficult, games between now and January.

The Parkhead side are in Pot 3 of the four seeding pots, but the place in the hierarchy is less important in the new draw.

Each team plays two sides from each of the four seeding pots, so a high ranking no longer means an easier draw.

So who could Brendan Rodgers and his players be pitting their wits against?

Pot One

As you might expect, the top seeding pot is packed with some of the biggest, and richest, clubs in the world.

Top of the pile, and as glamorous an opponent as Celtic could hope for, is Real Madrid. The Spanish side have lifted the trophy 15 times, most recently when they defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in last season’s final at Wembley.

Daizen Maeda and Dani Carvajal in action during a UEFA Champions League match between Real Madrid and Celtic at the Santiago Bernabeu, on November 2, 2022. SNS Group

Second-highest ranked in terms of UEFA co-efficient are Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s appetite for success hasn’t diminished and with Erling Haaland starting the season in fine form, any opponent facing the Premier League winners will be up against it.

With three of the nine top seeds coming from Germany, there’s a good chance Celtic will be taking on a Bundesliga team. Bayern Munich, managed by Vincent Kompany and with Harry Kane up front, are the high-profile draw but there’s also plenty danger from last season’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund, and RB Leipzig, who defeated Celtic home and away in the 2022-23 competition.

Paris St Germain remain well-funded, talented and fixated on reaching the pinnacle of the European game but Luis Enrique’s side aren’t among the favourites. Nevertheless, the Ligue 1 team scored 12 in two games against Celtic in 2017 and few fans would fancy a rematch.

One team that might stand out for Brendan Rodgers is his former team Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp may have departed Anfield but Arne Slot seems to have the team motoring early on.

The top Italian side in the competition is Inter Milan, who went all the way to the final two years ago. The Serie A side won their league at a canter last season, finishing 19 points ahead of city rivals AC Milan and 23 points ahead of Juventus.

And completing the line-up of top seeds, Barcelona’s place as the lowest-ranked side Celtic can draw from Pot One only underlines the quality on offer. Thought not in a golden era by any stretch of the imagination, the team is still packed with top players and who wouldn’t want to see teenage sensation Yamine Lamal in action?

Pot two

In theory, the second set of seeds should be a more welcoming proposition for Celtic than the first but a quick look at the level of clubs shows there are still giants to meet.

Pick of the bunch would arguably be Arsenal, who ran Manchester City close in the Premier League last season and look to have strengthened since then.

Celtic were defeated by Arsenal in a play-off for the 2009-10 Champions League. Bill Murray via SNS Group

The toughest away trip in the pot might well be a journey to the Metropolitano to face an Atletico Madrid side that has all the steel you would expect from Diego Simeone’s team and now counts Conor Gallagher and Julian Alvarez as the newest recruits.

Bayer Leverkusen might consider themselves a little unfortunate to be among the second seeds after a stunning season. No more ‘Neverkusen’ as they completed an unbeaten season in the Bundesliga, sealed a domestic double by winning the DFB-Pokal Cup and would have had an invincible season across all competitions but for a defeat in the Europa League final.

Who ended Leverkusen’s run and join then in pot two? Atalanta, who not only lifted continental silverware but also finished fourth in Serie A.

There are two more Italian teams lying in wait among the second seeds, with European royalty Juventus and Milan possible opponents for Celtic, who have enjoyed memorable nights against both in the past.

Superstitious Celtic fans may be hoping to see the computer pair them with Benfica. On the three occasions Celtic got out of the group to reach the Champions League knock-outs, Benfica have been in their group.

Rounding out the second seeds are two sides, Club Brugge and Shakhtar Donetsk, who may not have the glamour of the others but have plenty of European experience.

Pot three

The third pot of seeds is where Celtic find themselves, so in theory should provide a similar level of opponent. The Scottish champions’ chances of progress in the competition probably rest on taking points from the sides in this section and the one below, but it goes without saying that there are no easy options.

There’s one team that would provide an obvious highlight as away games go. A trip to Lisbon to play Sporting would be a story in itself for obvious reasons but Celtic haven’t actually played the Portuguese side in European competition since the days of the old UEFA Cup.

The chances of facing Dutch opposition are high, with Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven both in the mix.

PSV were the title winners in the Netherlands and reached the Champions Legaue knockouts but Celtic fans will be more familiar with Feyenoord, having faced them in last year’s competition.

Luis Palma and Feyenoord's Lutsharel Geertruida in action during a UEFA Champions League group stage match between Celtic and Feyenoord at Celtic Park, on December 13, 2023. — Luis Palma and Feyenoord’s Lutsharel Geertruida in action during a UEFA Champions League group stage match between Celtic and Feyenoord at Celtic Park, on December 13, 2023. SNS Group

A 2-0 defeat in Rotterdam, with Gustaf Lagerbielke and Odin Thiago Holm sent off was a huge disappointment but Celtic’s only win in the group came against the Dutch side when Luis Palma and Lagerbielke scored in a dramatic 2-1 victory in Glasgow.

Red Bull Salzburg are possible opponents, having come through the play-off round with a 3-1 win over Dynamo Kyiv. They may not have household names in their capable squad but are ranked 28 places above Celtic in the club coefficient ranking.

Young Boys, who count former Celtic loanee Saidy Janko and one-time Rangers striker Cedric Itten in their ranks, are also in the pot after an impressive 4-2 play-off win over Galatasaray.

Dinamo Zagreb booked their place in Thursday’s draw with a 5-0 aggregate victory over Azerbaijani champions Qarabağ in the play-off round. Celtic last faced the Croatians in the Europa League group stage in 2014, defeating them 1-0 at Parkhead thanks to Kris Commons’ early goal. Ronnie Deila played a makeshift side in the return match in Zagreb but a 4-3 defeat didn’t really matter as qualification to the knockouts had already been secured.

Serbian champions Crvena Zvevda are in pot 3 and would prove difficult opponents for Brendan Rodgers’ side. They defeated Norweigans Bodø/Glimt in the play-offs to advance to the group stage. The last time Celtic faced Crvena (Red Star Belgrade) was in the old European Cup in 1968.

Lille’s victory over Czech outfit Slavia Prague mean they could also be travelling to the east end of Glasgow. The French side boast several top international stars including Belgian defender Thomas Meunier and Canadian striker Jonathan David.

Pot four

It would be a mistake to think that the pot four sides are the weakest in the competition just because they are lowest ranked. Here be dragons.

Pick of the bunch, because it would deliver a ‘Battle of Britain’ as well as seeing Celtic face Scotland star John McGinn, would be Aston Villa. The Birmingham side have gone from strength to strength under Unai Emery and despite their place in the draw, they will have confidence they can go into the knockout rounds.

Celtic could come up against Scotland star John McGinn. SNS Group

The Scotland midfielder connection continues with Bologna and Lewis Ferguson is back training on grass as he makes his recovery from a cruciate ligament injury. Ferguson and his side impressed in Serie A last season and were a real surprise package as they finished fifth and took advantage of the Italian league having an extra place in the new-look Champions League.

Speaking of surprise packages, Girona are in the elite competition for the first time in their history after finishing ahead of some of Spain’s better known clubs last season. The City Group side were third in La Liga and signed Bojan Miovski from Aberdeen among others as they strengthened their squad for another big season.

There’s a Ligue 1 duo in the pot with league runners-up Monaco in the draw alongside Brest, who had the highest finish in their history when finishing third last season.

The fifth German side in the draw are VfB Stuttgart, who may be well removed from their compatriots in terms of coefficient points but are in the competition as the runners-up in the Bundesliga, having finished above Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund.

Max Johnston is in Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad and he could be back home again on club duty if Celtic draw Sturm Graz. The Austrian champions are regular European entrants but haven’t had the best of records in recent years. They’ll be looking to change that but will be considered underdogs in almost every game.

Celtic faced Sparta Prague in the Europa League in 2020/21 losing 4-1 home and away in a miserable campaign but would be hopeful they are in a stronger position now and could be a much tougher opponent for the Czech champions.

Slovan Bratislava scored two late goals to defeat Danish champions Midtjylland 3-2 on Wednesay night (4-3 on aggregate). Croatian attacking midfielder Marko Tolić was the star man with a brace. The Slovakian side is managed by Vladimír Weiss and the playing squad includes his son (Vladimír Weiss Junior), who played for Rangers in the 2010-11 season on loan from Manchester City.