The Kazakhstan hex Celtic will attempt to smash in UCL tie
Celtic have been in Kazakhstan on three occasions, but each time it was in Astana.
In 2013, they crashed to a disastrous 2-0 defeat to Shakhter Karagandy, who had moved their game to the capital.
Three years later, Celtic did at least salvage a 1-1 draw against FC Astana, and a year later, Celtic lost 4-3 in the away match to the same opponents, although the tie was wrapped up after a 5-0 home victory.
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Scotland also suffered an infamous defeat under Alex McLeish six years ago when they were destroyed 3-0 also in Astana.
And three Scottish teams have also played 770 miles to the east in Almaty too.
Aberdeen lost 2-1 to Kairat Almaty ten years ago in the Europa League when a Kenny McLean goal wasn't enough for Derek McInnes' team, who could only draw 1-1 at Pittodrie in the return and were eliminated.
And Scotland Under 21s have twice played there in the past three years - they drew 2-2 in 2022 when current Celtic scout Peter Houston took charge of the team because manager Scot Gemmill was suffering from Covid in a match with floodlight failure.
And last October, they lost 3-2 at the crumbling Almaty Ortalyk Stadium despite a wonder striker from new Udinese star Lennon Miller, when a win would have seen them qualify for the Euros play-offs.
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