Aiden McGeady could be heading back to Celtic in Champions League action
Spartak Moscow finished the season in second place yesterday behind champions Zenit St Petersburg and will go into the non-champions draw for the Champions League.
That will see Spartak paired with a team from the nations ranked from 6 to 15 in the third qualifying round with the five winners then drawn against a third or fourth placed club from one of the top five UEFA nations.
Spartak beat Moscow rivals Dynamo 2-0 yesterday to finish the season in second place two points clear of CSKA Moscow but 13 points behind leaders Zenit.
McGeady will join up with Ireland’s Euro 2012 squad next weekend as they prepare to travel to Poland where they’ve been drawn alongside Italy, Spain and Croatia.
Celtic will go into the champions qualifying route alongside the league winners from countries such as Belgium, Romania, Switzerland and Austria and are certain to be seeded in both qualifying rounds.
Ten clubs will qualify from the champions route with Scotland currently ranked the third highest behind Belgium and Romania.
The first qualifying match for Neil Lennon’s side will be on July 31/August 1 with the return match a week later.
If Celtic are successful they will then face another qualifier on August 21/22 and 28/29 to reach the group stage.
As well as Spartak Moscow, Motherwell could also be paired with Feyenoord, Fenerbache, Club Brugge or Sporting Braga in the third qualifying round.
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