Who could Celtic face in Champions League qualifying play-off round and what must happen for Hoops to be…
David Robson
6 – 7 minutes
Find out all the details ahead of the August showdowns right here
Published: 19:03, 9 May 2025
Updated: 19:41, 9 May 2025

FOR the last few years Celtic have enjoyed the benefit of having a rather relaxed start to the campaign without European qualifiers to attend to.
The Hoops clinched automatic qualification to the Champions League both this season and the last two through winning the league which has earned them a bye straight to the tournament proper.

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Celtic made great strides in Europe this seasonCredit: PA

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They want to find themselves in the league-phase draw again next seasonCredit: Reuters
But the Scottish champions won’t have that novelty this summer after Scotland dropped out of the top 10 nations in the coefficient rankings which sees them stripped of their automatic spot.
Brendan Rodgers‘ side will now have to fight for their place in Uefa‘s flagship competition in a massive two-leg shootout in the August play-off round instead.
Although it’s a couple of huge clashes Rodgers would love to do without, it’s a far less daunting task to what he has dealt with in the past in Glasgow, having gone through as many as THREE rounds to reach the group stage in his first season in charge back in 2016.
But that doesn’t mean it will be plane sailing for the manager this summer.
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There could be a real tricky tie in store for the Hoops in the play-off in August – especially if they’re unseeded for the draw.
Celtic at this moment of time find themselves sandwiched between various clubs both above and below them in Uefa’s coefficient table.
There will be 10 teams in total in the play-off round and only two have been confirmed – Celtic and their old foes Bodo/Glimt.
Eight more teams will join them but the seeding for the draw is still very much up in the air.
Five clubs will be seeded, while the other five will be unseeded.
And as things stand, there could be as many as SIX clubs ahead of the Parkhead club in the rankings which would see them drop down to the unseeded pot – if five of them reach this stage.
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Bodo have already sealed their position as one of the seeded clubs with their coefficient score of 49.000, while Celtic face a waiting game with their lower score of 38.000.
The champions of Switzerland and Austria are also guaranteed to join Celtic and Bodo in the play-off round but the winners of those leagues are still to be confirmed.
The Swiss title race doesn’t impact Celtic as leaders Basel and their closest rivals are all behind the Scottish side in the rankings.
But eyes will be on the Austrian top flight for the remainder of the season.
Celtic will be hoping that current leaders Sturm Graz get over the line in first position or they get pipped by either second-placed Austria Vienna or third-placed Wolfsberg.
All three of those teams will find themselves behind Celtic in the seeding but should RB Salzburg – who sit four points behind the leaders – turn things around in the final three games then they will leapfrog the Hoops with a coefficient score of 48.000.
The same predicament lies in the Danish, Croatian and Hungarian league.
Current Danish leaders Copenhagen – who are on course for a double – are ahead of Celtic with a score of 44.875 but second-placed FC Midtjylland and Brondby would be placed behind Rodgers’ side so it’s in their best interests for the capital club to miss out.
Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb will have the highest score if they win their title as they sit on 56.000 but they also face a thrilling three-team title race with Rijeka sitting one point clear of Zagreb on 59 points, with Gennaro Gattuso’s Hajduk Split third on 56 after a major title collapse in recent weeks.
Celtic’s potential Champions League stumbling blocks
There are as many as six teams in the play-off round who could be ahead of Celtic in Uefa’s club coefficient rankings.
There will only be five seeded teams in the play-off, while the other five will be unseeded.
Celtic require at least two of the following five clubs to fail in reaching the play-off round to ensure they get one of the five seeded spots.
Dinamo Zagreb
RB Salzburg
Copenhagen
Red Star Belgrade
Ferencvaros
Bodo/Glimt are already GURANTEED a seeded place.
Similar to Midtjylland and Brondby both Rijeka and Hajduk Split will be unseeded if they clinch the silverware.
And that’s the case in Hungary as Ferencvaros – who are three points clear – are the only club clear of the Hoops by just one coefficient point with a tally of 29.000.
If Copenhagen, Dinamo Zagreb and Ferencvaros all come out on top domestically and win their previous qualifying games before the play-off – and Salzburg do the same – then Celtic will be unseeded for the draw.
Red Star Belgrade – who are confirmed to enter the second round as Czech champions – also pose an issue should they reach the play-off, with a score of 44.000
Only four places remain outwith Bodo/Glimt so in summary Celtic require two of the five clubs mentioned above to fail in their quest for Champions League football.
Should things go Celtic’s way and they’re seeded for the draw then there’s a number of teams they could face.
As previously mentioned the champions of Switzerland – Basel as things stand – is a potential along with Rangers‘ Europa League rivals FCSB, Polish challengers Rakow or Lech Poznan and Slovan Bratislava – a team Celtic thrashed 5-1 in their UCL opener this season.
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They could also face the champions of leagues mentioned above should the likes of Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb and Ferencvaros miss out and their league rivals take their place.
The first leg of the play-off round will be played on either August 19 or 20 with the return clash scheduled for the following week on August 26/27.
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
