Every Celtic Champions League playoff opponent profiled as £40m shootout beckons

Daily Record

01-08-2025

The Hoops will discover their fate on Monday when the draw is made
Celtic will discover who stands between them and a bumper £40million Champions League jackpot when the playoff draw is made on Monday.
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Brendan Rodgers' men are seeded in the final qualifying round and will face one of five possible opponents in the Champions Path.
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Two teams are already in the hat, while three third-round ties have still to be settled before the picture becomes clearer.
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It's a winner-takes-all two-legged shootout for a golden ticket to the group stages as Celts look to dine at Europe's top table for a fourth year on the bounce.
Here, Record Sport gives the lowdown on who the Parkhead giants could face in the most lucrative showdown of the season.
FC Basel (Switzerland)
Arguably the toughest draw on paper. Basel finished top of the Swiss Super League as they wrestled back the title from Young Boys - who Celtic narrowly edged out in last year's group phase.
Hoops supporters of a certain vintage will shudder at the memory of Basel dumping Martin O'Neill's star-studded side out back in 2002. Of course, Henrik Larsson and Co bounced back that season with an unforgettable run to the UEFA Cup Final in Seville. But 23 years on, it still represents a difficult tie.
Last season was their first without European football in a quarter of a century, although they haven't reached the Champions League proper since 2017/18, when Man City knocked them out in the last 16.
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Managed by Ludovic Magnin, Basel boast a couple of familiar names - including Hoops flop Albian Ajeti and former Liverpool star Xherdan Shaqiri.
The 21-time Swiss champs play at the 31,000-capacity St. Jakob-Park.
Sturm Graz (Austria)
They might not be a household name. But underestimate Sturm Graz at your peril.
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The Austrians made it back-to-back Bundesliga titles last season, pipping moneybags RB Salzburg to top spot by two points.
They ended a 24-year Champions League exile by qualifying last term, finishing 30th with two wins against Girona and RB Leipzig.
Scotland star Max Johnston is one of their key players and has been earning rave reviews, drawing interest from across the continent.
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Celtic fans could face a ticket scramble though, as their Merkur Arena only holds 16,000.
Kairat (Kazakhstan)or Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia)
Let's be honest, Rodgers would bite your hand off for either of these sides over Basel or Graz.
Slovan are the more dangerous of the two, although Celts would have absolutely nothing to fear after gubbing the Slovakian champions 5-1 at Parkhead last September.
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Former Rangers favourite Vladimir Weiss would love to get one over the Hoops after taking pelters from the stands, while goal machine David Strelec could also have a point to prove after his January move to Celtic collapsed.
Kairat, on the other hand, would present a logistical nightmare. The Kazakhs would mean a 7,000-mile round trip to Almaty, a far cry from a glamour tie but a tricky one given the travel.
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They got the job done against Slovenian side Olimpija in the previous phase, progressing 3-1 on aggregate.
Kairat grounds shares with FC Kairat Almaty by playing at the 23,804-seater Central Stadium, which is also home to the Kazakhstan national team.
Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine) or Pafos (Cyprus)
If Dynamo make it through, they'll be eyeing an Old Firm double after dumping Rangers out of the Champions League in last year's qualifiers.
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Despite Ukraine's domestic turmoil, the capital club remain seasoned European campaigners. However, they've been forced to play home games on neutral ground, which could play into Celtic's hands.
Kyiv dethroned Shakhtar Donetsk to win the league but flopped in Europe, finishing 34th in the Europa League with just four points.
Still, they've got some real class in their squad. Ex-West Ham and Borussia Dortmund hitman Andriy Yarmolenko is always a threat, as is homegrown hero Vladyslav Vanat.
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Meanwhile, Pafos would be a less daunting draw. The Cypriots only came into existence in 2014 but have been bankrolled to the summit of their domestic game.
Bossed by ex-Sevilla, Arsenal and PSG assistant Juan Carlos Carcedo, they stormed to their first top-flight title last season and have some reputable names like Croatia international Mislav Orsic in their squad.
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They marked their debut season in Europe by reaching the last 16 of the Europa Conference League, but their lack of experience would make Celts strong favourites.
Shkendija (North Macedonia) or Qarabag (Azerbaijan)
Qarabag are another side that Celtic have locked horns with before and they're no pushovers.
Ronny Deila's Hoops sneaked past them in the 2015 qualifiers with Dedryck Boyata scoring the only goal of the two-legged tie.
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The Azerbaijani champs have competed in the European group stages in each of the last 11 seasons but have only qualified for the Champions League proper once in 2017/18.
They've just coasted past League of Ireland outfit Shelbourne 4-0 on aggregate and would prove an awkward opponent, especially factoring in the heat and travel to Baku.
However, if there's one tie Celtic could handpick, it would be against Shkendija.
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Based in Tetovo, the North Macedonians have never reached a group stage and would be serious underdogs.
If they can somehow stun Qarabag, Celtic will be rubbing their hands at the prospect of the most straightforward route to the money-spinning group phase.