BRENDAN RODGERS will tonight lead his players into his SIXTY-THIRD European encounter when Celtic take on Sturm Graz at Parkhead.
The Hoops manager has much to prove at this level with 27 losses in his previous outings while there have also been 14 draws and 21 wins.
This will be Rodgers’ fifth Euro confrontation this season and he is hoping for a first success after three draws and a defeat.
The two goalless deadlocks with Kairat Almaty led to the subsequent Champions League exit when Adam Idah, Luke McCowan and Daizen Maeda squandered their penalties in the spot-kick shoot-out.
LOOKING DOWN…Brendan Rodgers cuts a disappointed figure as Celtic exit the Champions League in Kazakhstan in August.
The Europa League campaign kicked off in the Serbian capital when Kelechi Iheanacho netted in the 1-1 stalemate against Red Star Belgrade, but the Hoops fired blanks in the follow-up game in the dismal 2-0 reverse at home against Sporting Braga.
Ominously, the 52-year-old team chief kicked off his career as Celtic manager with a 1-0 loss to Gibraltar minnows Lincoln Red Imps on July 12 2016. Only James Forrest remains at the club of the 14 players utilised that day.
Thankfully, a week later the Hoops rectified the situation with first-half strikes from Mikael Lustig, Leigh Griffiths and Patrick Roberts on their way to a 3-0 win.
SEASON 2016/17
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Second qualifying round
Lincoln Red Imps 1 CELTIC 0
CELTIC 3 Lincoln Red Imps 0 (Agg: 3-1)
Lustig, Griffiths, Roberts
Third qualifying round
Astana 1 CELTIC 1
Griffiths
CELTIC 2 Astana 1 (Agg: 3-2)
Griffiths (pen), Dembele (pen)
Play-Off Round
CELTIC 5 Hapoel Be’er Sheva 2
Rogic, Griffiths (2), Dembele, Brown
Hapoel Be’er Sheva 2 CELTIC 0 (Agg: 5-4)
GROUP STAGES
Barcelona 7 CELTIC 0
CELTIC 0 Barcelona 2
CELTIC 3 Manchester City 3
Dembele (2), Sterling (og)
Manchester City 1 CELTIC 1
Roberts
CELTIC 0 Borussia Monchengladbach 2
Borussia Monchengladbach 1 CELTIC 1
Dembele (pen)
SEASON 2017/18
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Second qualifying round
Linfield 0 CELTIC 2
Haughney (og), Rogic
CELTIC 4 Linfield 0 (Agg: 6-0)
Sinclair (2), Rogic, Armstrong
Third qualifying round
CELTIC 0 Rosenborg 0
Rosenborg 0 CELTIC 1 (Agg: 1-0)
Forrest
Play-Off Round
CELTIC 5 Astana 0
Postnikov (og), Sinclair (2), Forrest, Shitov (og)
Astana 4 CELTIC 3 (Agg: 8-4)
Sinclair, Ntcham, Griffiths
GROUP STAGES
CELTIC 0 PSG 5
PSG 7 CELTIC 1
Dembele
Bayern Munich 3 CELTIC 0
CELTIC 1 Bayern Munich 2
McGregor
Anderlecht 0 CELTIC 3
Griffiths, Roberts, Sinclair
CELTIC 0 Anderlecht 1
EUROPA LEAGUE LAST 32
CELTIC 1 Zenit St Petersburg 0
McGregor
Zenit St Petersburg 3 CELTIC 0 (Agg: 1-3)
SEASON 2018/19
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
First qualifying round
Alashkert 0 CELTIC 3
Edouard, Forrest, McGregor
CELTIC 3 Alashkert 0 (Agg: 6-0)
Dembele 2 (1 pen), Forrest
Second qualifying round
CELTIC 3 Rosenborg 1
Edouard 2, Ntcham
Rosenborg 0 CELTIC 0 (Agg: 3-1)
Third qualifying round
CELTIC 1 AEK Athens 1
McGregor
AEK Athens 2 CELTIC 1 (Agg: 2-3)
Sinclair
EUROPA LEAGUE PLAY-OFF
FK Sudova 1 CELTIC 1
Ntcham
CELTIC 3 FK Sudova 0 (Agg: 4-1)
Griffiths, McGregor, Ajer
GROUP STAGES
CELTIC 1 Rosenborg 0
Griffiths
Rosenborg 0 CELTIC 1
Sinclair
RB Salzburg 2 CELTIC 0
CELTIC 1 RB Salzburg 2
Ntcham
RB Leipzig 2 CELTIC 0
CELTIC 2 RB Leipzig 1
Tierney, Edouard
ROUND OF 32
CELTIC 0 Valencia 2
Valencia 1 CELTIC 0 (Agg: 0-3)
SEASON 2023/24
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
GROUP STAGES
Feyenoord 2 CELTIC 0
CELTIC 1 Lazio 2
Kyogo
CELTIC 2 Atletico Madrid 2
Kyogo, Palma
Atletico Madrid 6 CELTIC 0
Lazio 2 CELTIC O
CELTIC 2 Feyenoord 1
Palma (pen), Lagerbielke
SEASON 2024/25
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
CELTIC 5 Slovan Bratislava 1
Scales, Kyogo, Engels (pen), Maeda, Idah
Borussia Dortmund 7 CELTIC 1
Maeda
Atalanta 0 CELTIC 0
CELTIC 3 RB Leipzig 1
Kuhn 2, Hatate
CELTIC 1 Club Brugge 1
Maeda
Dinamo Zagreb 0 CELTIC 0
CELTIC 1 Young Boys 0
Benito (og)
Aston Villa 4 CELTIC 2
Idah 2
CELTIC 1 Bayern Munich 2
Maeda
Bayern Munich 1 CELTIC 1 (Agg: 3-2)
Kuhn
SEASON 2025/26
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Qualifying Round: Play Off
CELTIC 0 Kairat Almaty 0
Kairat Almaty 0 CELTIC 0 AET:(Agg: 0-0; Celtic lose 3-2 on pens)
EUROPA LEAGUE
Red Star Belgrade 1 CELTIC 1
Iheanacho
CELTIC 0 Sporting Braga 2
* DON’T miss the unbeatable match report from Celtic v Sturm Graz this evening – only in your champion CQN.
