Celtic earned plenty of Champions League plaudits but only a couple of points from a disappointing group stage campaign last season.
Ange Postecoglou will be hoping to improve on that next season and can set about how he’s going to go about that once they officially wrap up the 2022/23 Scottish Premiership title before aiming to complete a domestic clean sweep when they face Championship side Inverness in the Scottish Cup Final on June 3.
The group stage draw takes place on transfer deadline day and by then Postecoglou should have secured all off his signings for the new campaign, given the Aussie likes to get his work done early in the market.
Of course, exactly how they fare will depend very much on how the draw falls. Last season they were in with Real Madrid, RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk and it was felt then they would have a fighting chance of finishing second. The reality was very different with only two draws against the side from Ukraine - who were forced to play their ‘home’ games in Warsaw - to show for their efforts.
There is often a familiar feel to the Champions League draw with Celtic having faces many of the same sides over the years. That’s why Real Madrid was such a welcome fixture, with fans looking to experience new grounds. The Hoops have faced the likes of AC Milan and Barcelona on numerous occasions.
Leagues across Europe have still to be decided but there could be some fresh sides in there for Celtic - Feyenoord are on course to win the Dutch league and that would be a rerun of the 1970 final. Newcastle United are also enjoying a stunning season under former Celtic managerial target Eddie Howe, although as things stand they would be in Pot 4 alongside the Hoops.
Swiss Football Data on Twitter have predicted how the draw pots could look.
Predicted Champions League pots 2023/24
Pot 1: Manchester City (ENG), Juventus (ITA), Barcelona (ESP), Napoli (ITA), Bayern Munich (GER), PSG (FRA), Benfica (POR), Feyenoord (HOL)
Pot 2: Real Madrid (ESP), Man Utd (ENG), Inter Milan (ITA), Borussia Dortmund (GER), Atletico Madrid (ESP), Porto (POR), Arsenal (ENG), Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
Pot 3 : RB Salzburg (AUT), Dinamo Zagreb (CRO), Rangers (SCO), Braga (POR), Lazio (ITA), Red Star Belgrade (SRB), Copenhagen (DEN), Young Boys (SUI)
Pot 4: Newcastle United (ENG), CELTIC (SCO) , Real Sociedad (ESP), Marseille (FRA), Galatasaray (TUR), Union Berlin (GER), Freiburg (GER), Lens (FRA)
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