Celtic's Champions League play-off opponent latest
Celtic will play at home first, having been drawn out of the hat as the host club for the first leg.
🍀 In UCL QR3, Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan have just beaten 10 man Slovan Bratislava 1-0 in the first leg, thanks to a late penalty
✈️ Celtic face the winners - around a 7,000 mile round trip to get there
🔴 Kairat beat Aberdeen 3-2 (agg) 10 years ago
pic.twitter.com/5D0QlvXhDb — Scotland's Coefficient (@scotlandscoeff1) August 6, 2025
That game will be played on Wednesday, August 20, with an 8pm kick-off, as per UEFA's website.
The return leg - wherever that will be - is set to take place six days later on Tuesday, August 26, also with an 8pm kick-off.
Celtic are guaranteed league phase football in Europe this season, as if the Scottish Premiership champions fail to advance then they would drop into the Europa League.
While nothing is settled yet, with the game only at the halfway point over the two legs, the Kazakhstan team have a one-goal advantage.
Read more:
They scored a 90th-minute penalty through Dastan Satpaev to secure the home victory over the Slovakians.
The visitors were reduced to 10 men after 65 minutes when Rahim Ibrahim was sent off after picking up two yellow cards.
Celtic, of course, faced Slovan in the opening match of their Champions League campaign last season.
They strolled the match at Celtic Park, rolling over the poor opposition 5-1 on the night.
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