Celtic to face Bayern Munich or Real Madrid in Champions League play-off round

Celtic will take on Bayern Munich or Real Madrid in their Champions League play-off tie in February.

The Scottish champions have made the knockout rounds of the elite competition for the first time since 2013 after impressing in their league phase campaign.

The new competition format means that teams who finish in places ninth through to 24th play each other in the last 16, with the teams in ninth to 16th seeded and the remainder unseeded.

Celtic’s 21st-place finish means they take on either the 11th or 12th place in the table and that means Bayern Munich or Real Madrid lie in wait.

Now they will look forward to Friday’s draw when they will learn if they will be facing top class German or Spanish opposition in the play-off.

The first leg will be played at Celtic Park on February 11/12, with the return match taking place in Munich or Madrid on February 18/19.

Celtic began their Champions League campaign with an impressive 5-1 win over Slovan Bratislava but suffered a 7-1 reverse to last season’s finalists Borussia Dortmund on the second matchday.

Brendan Rodgers’ side then drew 0-0 with Atalanta in Bergamo and followed that with a 3-1 home win over Bundesliga side RB Leipzig.

Draws at home to Club Brugge and away to Dinamo Zagreb inched the team closer to qualification and a place in the knockout rounds was secured with a 1-0 win over Young Boys at Celtic Park.

The team then finished their League Phase campaign with a dramatic XXXX against Aston Villa in Birmingham.