CELTIC will be in pot two for today’s Europa League draw which is scheduled to start at midday.
A total of 36 teams will be involved in the ballot and each side will face eight different clubs, with four home games and four away.
The competitors will be placed into four pots, with pot one being the highest-ranked and four the lowest. The pot placements are based on the club’s UEFA club coefficient ranking from the five-season period ending at the conclusion of 2025-26.
Each team will face two opponents from each of the four pots and cannot face a team from the same country.
The teams who finish in the top eight will qualify for the Europa League’s round of 16. Those between ninth and 24th place will enter the play-off knock-out round.
The 12 teams ranked between 25th and 36th place will exit the competition.
Martin O’Neill’s side are accompanied in pot two by Ferencvaros, Viktoria Plzen, Union Saint-Gilloise, Dinamo Zagreb, Red Bull Salzburg, Sparta Prague, Rennes and Anderlecht.
Pot one is made up of Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica, Juventus, AC Milan, Lyon, Marseille. AZ Alkmaar, Olympiakos and Real Sociedad.
English clubs Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Sunderland are in in pot three alongside Celta Vigo, Sturm Graz, Lech Poznan, Celje, Omonia and Jagiellonia Bialystok, conquerors of Derek McInnes’ Ibrox outfit in the qualifiers.
Portuguese second-tier side Torreense, who are making their European debut, are in pot four and are accompanied by Hoffenheim, Besiktas, Hapoel Be’er Sheva, NEC Nijmegen, OFI Crete, Lillestrom, Aarat-Armenia and Levski Sofia.
LEAGUE PHASE DATES
Matchday 1: September 16/17 2026
Matchday 2: October 15
Matchday 3: October 22
Matchday 4: November 5
Matchday 5: November 26
Matchday 6: December 10
Matchday 7: January 21 2027
Matchday 8: January 28
KNOCK-OUT PHASE DATES
Play-offs: February 18 and 25
Round of 16: March 11 and 18
Quarter-finals: April 8 and 15
Semi-finals: April 29 and May 6
Final (Frankfurt): May 26
WANT TO KNOW A SECRET? Celtic Confidential is the stunning book that brings the exclusive inside stories behind the headlines. Who was the tycoon who would have ruined Celtic? What really happened the night Kenny Dalglish quit the club? The real story behind Mo Johnston’s sensational move to Ibrox. All is revealed in Alex Gordon’s sixteenth Celtic book which is available NOW. Order a copy and get £5 OFF the cover price of £25. Just click SHOP HERE and your book will be on its way. Enjoy the revelations!
