As well as facing Ferencvaros next week a number of other Champions League options opened up to Celtic last night.
Deep deep deep into the future the hoops will go into Pot Three of the Group Stage draw but after the last two seasons everyone at Celtic knows that the draw is loaded with problem ties- amplified this season by one off matches.
Should Celtic get past Ferencvaros on Wednesday there is one potential tie that stands out- away to Legia Warsaw who were overcome in a controversial tie in 2014 when UEFA applied the rules for fielding an ineligible player.
The Play Off round reverts back to two legs with some impressive names likely to be in the non-seeded section including Slavia Prague who knocked out Cluj last season after the Romanian’s had ended Celtic’s hopes.
Ferencvaros will hold all of Neil Lennon’s attention with the Celtic boss able to add two wildcard signings by 11pm on Monday night however unless they are signed before the weekend and able to play against Dundee United it’s unlikely that any signing would be pitched into their debut in a Champions League qualifier.
1 Lyon’s loss tonight confirms that, should we get there, Celtic would be a Pot 3 team in the Champions League group stage draw.
It also means that Ajax now don’t need to qualify, which means that QR3 and the Playoff round need to be adjusted to ensure 4 champions qualify.
— Moravcik67 (@Moravcik67_) August 19, 2020
2. This will likely be done by giving both Olympiakos and Slavia Prague a free pass to the Playoff round.
That would mean QR3 reduces from 12 to 10 teams as a result, with the 5 winners joining Olympiakos, Slavia and Salzburg in the Playoff round.
— Moravcik67 (@Moravcik67_) August 19, 2020
3. QR1 saw 3 seeded teams lose – Astana the highest profile, but also Dundalk and Dinamo Tbilisi.
The lineup for QR2 is attached, with the Ki v Slovan Bratislava QR1 tie still to be played on Friday. pic.twitter.com/qtHsanA2JF
— Moravcik67 (@Moravcik67_) August 19, 2020
4. The draw for QR3 is on 31st August, so all 2nd round ties will be played before then.
The Astana and Lyon losses mean that Young Boys and Red Star Belgrade are no longer potential opponents in QR3 – should we get there.
— Moravcik67 (@Moravcik67_) August 19, 2020
5. Projected opponents for QR3 – if all seeded teams win in QR2, are
Qarabag
Legia Warsaw
Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Molde
Dynamo BrestBut this might change, depending on what surprises QR2 throws up. And, of course, we have to win our own game.
— Moravcik67 (@Moravcik67_) August 19, 2020
6. Should we get by our jinx round of QR3 then the lineup of projected opponents for the playoff is as follows – again assuming that seeded teams always progress.
Slavia Prague
Ludogorets
Young Boys
Red Star Belgrade— Moravcik67 (@Moravcik67_) August 19, 2020
7. Keep in mind that the playoff draw (on 1st Sep) is made before QR3 is played. That means any team projected to be unseeded in the playoff after QR2 completes could not then become seeded, regardless of what happens in QR3.
/End
— Moravcik67 (@Moravcik67_) August 19, 2020