Celtic’s potential Europa League opponents have been confirmed ahead of Friday’s draw in Monaco.
The Scottish club will enter the 36-team League Phase as a Pot 2 side, with two opponents drawn from each of four pots. The draw will take place at 12pm on Friday.
Four matches will be played at Celtic Park and four away. UEFA’s pot system has provided no practical seeding benefit since the tournament format changed at the start of the 2024/25 season.
A top-24 finish in the league table will secure a place in the knockout stages. Teams finishing in the top eight will go directly through to the last 16.
Celtic’s first fixture will be played on September 16 or September 17. Matchdays two to eight will run from October 15 to January 28.
The club collected 11 points in last season’s League Phase and finished 21st. That led to a knockout tie against Stuttgart, but Celtic lost 4-2 on aggregate.
Wins over Sturm Graz, Feyenoord and Young Boys were joined by draws against Red Star Belgrade and Bologna.
Celtic enter this season’s competition after losing a Champions League play-off against Austrian champions LASK. They had held a 4-0 aggregate lead with 70 minutes remaining before being eliminated.
The Europa League brought Celtic about £14m in 2025/26, compared with £40.2m earned from their Champions League participation in 2024/25.
Manager Martin O’Neill has said changes to the squad are still needed before the transfer window closes.
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill said: "What these games show you is that we have a lot of work to do in that aspect. You can cover over cracks at certain stages, but overall these games are real tests. And unfortunately, we failed that test."
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He also said: "We know that we are a million miles from the finished article. That’s absolutely true. I think we thought that anyway, regardless."
Celtic must register their Europa League squad by midnight on September 2. The deadline falls next Wednesday.
Celtic's Europa League draw line-up in full
Pot 1: Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus, Milan, Lyon, AZ, Olympiacos, Real Sociedad, Marseille, Benfica. Pot 2: Union Saint-Gilloise, Ferencvaros, Viktoria Plzen, Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb, Sparta Prague, Rennes, Anderlecht. Pot 3: Sturm Graz, Lech Poznan, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Sunderland, Celje, Jagiellonia, Celta Vigo, Omonia. Pot 4: Hoffenheim, Besiktas, Torreense, Hapoel Be'er Sheva, NEC, Levski Sofia, Ararat-Armenia, Lillestrom, OFI.
