Celtic’s Champions League qualifying path may have just become considerably tougher, with the club now no longer expected to be seeded in the play-off round of the competition.
For months, projections suggested the Scottish champions would enter the final qualifying round as one of the top seeds. But new data has revealed that Dinamo Zagreb, Bodo/Glimt, FC Copenhagen, Crvena Zvezda and Ferencváros are currently ahead of the Hoops in UEFA coefficient standings, leaving Celtic on the outside looking in.
CeltsAreHere contacted Football Rankings, who explained what needs to happen for Celtic to regain seeded status before the draw.
In short, two of the following six scenarios must occur:
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Rijeka or Hajduk Split win the Croatian title ahead of Dinamo Zagreb (17% chance), or Dinamo are eliminated in QR2 (20%).
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Crvena Zvezda are knocked out in QR2 (19%).
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Bodo/Glimt win the Europa League (3%).
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Midtjylland win the Danish title ahead of FC Copenhagen (21%), or Copenhagen exit in QR2 (18%).
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Puskás Akadémia or Paks win the Hungarian league ahead of Ferencváros (10%), or Ferencváros go out in QR2 (28%).
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Sturm Graz, Austria Wien or Wolfsberger AC win the Austrian Bundesliga instead of Salzburg—currently the most likely scenario at 80%.
Without at least two of these outcomes falling Celtic’s way, the club will face a potentially more dangerous opponent in the play-off round as an unseeded team. That could result in a matchup against one of the very sides listed above, complicating the road to the group stage.
Celtic, of course, will enter the Champions League in the play-off round following their Premiership title win, with the path route already a pressure-cooker. Now, the margin for error looks even slimmer.
