There is just one more UEFA draw to be made as Celtic attempt to return to the group phase of the Champions League.
At 11am Celtic Park Time on Monday August 5 Celtic and Cluj will go into the seeded section of the draw as the action gets serious with BT Sport picking up the action rather than leaving broadcasting to individual clubs.
Young Boys of Berne and Slavia Prague come straight in at this stage due to their countries co-efficient but their own co-efficient is inferior to Celtic’s with both clubs likely to be rusty compared to a club that has come through three qualifying rounds.
Celtic/Cluj’s other possible opponents look very familiar with the Champions League format ensuring that the same clubs are often in the mix. APOEL or Qarabag square up in the third qualifying round while Maribor and Rosenborg also face each other looking for a place in the Play-Off.
That’s the lineup for Monday’s CL Playoff draw complete.
[Seeded Teams]
Ajax / PAOK
Celtic / Cluj
Copenhagen / Red Star Belgrade
Dinamo Zagreb / Ferencvaros[Unseeded Teams ]
Young Boys of Berne
APOEL / Qarabag
Slavia Prague
Maribor / Rosenborg— Moravcik67 (@Moravcik67_) July 31, 2019
Upcoming Euro dates
– 11pm tomorrow : deadline to register our squad for QR3
– 11am Monday : CL & EL Playoff round draw
– 11pm Tuesday : deadline to add 2 new players to our QR3 squad if needed
– 7pm Wednesday: 1st leg v Cluj (a)
– 7.45pm Tue 13th Aug : 2nd leg v Cluj (h)
— Moravcik67 (@Moravcik67_) July 31, 2019
Reaching the Play Off earns a £5m payment from UEFA but the real riches are in the group stage which would earn Celtic north of £30m. If the hoops reach the group stage they will be among the third seeds which means that they would be drawn in a group with one club that has a lower co-efficient.
Of more immediate interest to Neil Lennon is tonight’s 11pm deadline for registering signings to face Cluj although two wild cards can be added by 11pm on Tuesday, the day before Celtic are in action in Romania.