Celtic will learn their fate this morning regarding who they will face in the knockout playoffs. After finishing 21st in the Champions League table, they will face either the 11th or 12th-placed team on either February 11th or 12th.
Finishing above the likes of Manchester City, Sporting Lisbon, and Club Brugge, the Hoops have advanced to the next round of the competition for the first time since 2013. However, the draw won’t get any easier, as several European powerhouses failed to finish in the top eight.
As a result, the playoffs are filled with teams that many would have expected to reach the last 16 outright.
The draw will take place at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, at 11 AM UK time this morning. It will be broadcast live on TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports’ YouTube channel, and Discovery+.
The seeded teams in the draw are Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid, Bayern München, Milan, PSV, Paris Saint-Germain, and Benfica.
With Celtic unseeded after finishing 21st, they join Monaco, Brest, Feyenoord, Juventus, Manchester City, Sporting CP, and Club Brugge in the draw.
Today’s draw will determine who Celtic will face in the next round. However, the Hoops already know that the first leg will be played at Celtic Park, with the match set to take place between Tuesday, February 11th or Wednesday, February 12th.
The Hoops opponent will be either Real Madrid, who finished 11th, or Bayern Munich, who finished 12th—certainly two teams that few would have predicted at the beginning of the season to miss out on the top eight and end up in the knockout playoffs alongside Celtic.
For Celtic, however, it is a chance to prove themselves against Europe’s elite. With Jota already rejoining this month and the potential arrival of a new striker and left-back before the transfer window closes, the Hoops are actively looking to improve the squad as much as possible before the knockout playoffs.
