Celtic’s route to the riches of the Champions League group phase is starting to become apparent with the draw for the first two qualifying rounds taking place on June 18.
Only four places are available through the ‘Champions Route’ but only Ajax have a higher co-efficient than the hoops meaning that they will be seeded through each qualifying round.
One very long distance incentive is that if Celtic make it through to the group phase there is a strong chance that they will be in the third group of seeds which will also include Spurs, Ajax, Valencia and Benfica.
Countries such as Switzerland (Young Boys of Berne) and Poland (Plast Gliwice) have less experienced clubs in the draw which means that they have a lower co-efficient but have finished above Basel and Legia Warsaw to take the title.
Last year Celtic crashed out at the third qualifying round which again looks as dangerous as the final Play Off round.
In the unlikely event of the seeded teams winning their ties Celtic’s third round opponents will come from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Azerbaijan, Serbia or Slovenia.
Should they get over that obstacle the final qualifier will be against the champions of Belarus, Switzerland, Kazakhstan or the Czech Republic.
The first round first leg ties will be played on July 9 or 10 and will continue through every midweek during July and August.
7. Of course getting Pot 3 would mean Pot 4 might look something like this.
Atalanta, Leipzig, Lille, Lokomotiv Moscow, Genk, Galatasary, Copenhage & Zagreb.
But it’s better than facing a Pot 3 of
Benfica, Salzburg, Kyiv, Valencia, Spurs, Ajax, Inter & Leverkusen.
/END
— Moravcik67 (@Moravcik67_) May 19, 2019
3. Nearly all the leagues in Europe have finished, and there are only a handful of CL places still undecided.
Based on current standings, here’s how Round 1 will probably look.
I’m assuming throughout that seeded teams progress from each round. pic.twitter.com/VpTy7cR4bL
— Moravcik67 (@Moravcik67_) May 19, 2019
5. The 2nd Round starts to look a bit tougher. Most of the teams we should see off comfortably. But some could be troublesome if we have a poor close season.
Maccabi Tel-Aviv and our old friends in Rosenborg are probably the standouts here. pic.twitter.com/ercKiFj4QU
— Moravcik67 (@Moravcik67_) May 19, 2019
6. R3 looks more menacing. Not sure another trip to Greece would be good for the heart. Ludogorets are bankrolled, but don’t seem quite as strong as they were. APOEL have been about forever.
It’s difficult to know how these teams will be from season to season. pic.twitter.com/nYG20yp4I6
— Moravcik67 (@Moravcik67_) May 19, 2019
7. And finally the Playoff Round. I’m not sure it’s that much tougher than R3. All these teams are capable of causing us problems, so we need to be at our best.
We saw last year that if you’re not focussed then you’re vulnerable. We can’t afford the same to happen next season. pic.twitter.com/rI4nHIrxJI
— Moravcik67 (@Moravcik67_) May 19, 2019