Celtic today discovered their opponents in the UEFA Champions League play-off with the ties scheduled to take place later this month…
Martin O’Neill’s Scottish Champions have been drawn against Austrian Champions LASK with the first leg of the play-off tie taking place at Celtic Park on 18/19 August with the away leg being played on 25/26 August.
It’s a £40m shoot-out between the two Champions for a place in the League Phase of this season’s Champions League and Celtic will need to be ready for what will be a stern test. Success is paramount and it also gives us a chance to put the ghost of the Kairat Almaty debacle to bad once and for all. That defeat was costly financially and it also cast a horrible shadow over the entire season last year, as Martin O’Neill recently noted.
Like Celtic, LASK won a league and cup double last season. The Austrian Bundesliga triumph was only the second time that they had lifted the trophy and they will hope that that momentum will be able to take them past the Hoops. The Austrian Champions will be well aware of Celtic’s terrible record in Champions League play-off matches and will look to exploit that as much as possible, using it as a motivating factor for their team.
The Austrian top flight ranks one place above the Scottish Premiership in UEFA’s coefficient rankings, but LASK have 15 points fewer than Celtic in the club coefficient table.
It’s looking like an evenly contested tie with Celtic going to have to be up to speed and at our best for the challenge. Unlike last season we have two top goalscorers at this level in our team and hopefully more arrivals will be incoming before the tie.
The cautious yet costly strategy of waiting for the outcome of the qualifier before committing further financial resources to recruitment needs to be binned.
Travelling to Austria for the away tie certainly beats that trip to the other side of the world last year to play Kairat Almaty. That’s a real bonus and one Celtic should look to take full advantage of.
The tie is winnable but the team needs additions. We all know that but this evening we will get the chance to assess for ourselves how ready Celtic is looking for the most important matches of the season.
🍀 Celtic have been drawn against Austrian champions LASK in the Champions League play-off round.
Watch the start of their Scottish Premiership title defence tonight as they host Dundee, live on Sky Sports 📺 pic.twitter.com/MbQtr6z9lD
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) August 3, 2026
🗳️ We have been drawn against LASK in the @ChampionsLeague play-off round
Fixture date and time tbc 🗓️#CelticFC🍀 pic.twitter.com/p62hdFLH3I
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) August 3, 2026
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2 Comments
The prospect of a CL campaign, becomes a reality today?
And as an overall squad, still wouldn’t regard ourselves ready for such a campaign imo?
We might be able to put a decent enough starting line-up in place?
But we are still lacking within the squad, with potential changes available from the bench imo?
So already running the risk of potential injuries, potentially impacting ourselves beforehand?
Along with the potential sell of both AJ and Engels beforehand, wouldn’t be regarded as the best preparation for such a huge match?
So still a bit unsettling at present, with the prospect of a CL campaign, with the amount of additions still required to our overall 25man European squad?
Just how many will be required and made?
Always a sticking point, especially as there will potentially be a few changes made from the squad in place for those qualification games, and the one put in place for the league phase of the European competition imo?
Personally believe that at least 5 players are still required to fulfill our squad?
Another keeper and LB.
2 central midfielders
At least 1 wide option imo?
That’s without the RB position and the AJ situation looming?
Still think we will loan another CB for extra cover?
Whether it’s for a squad place for europe, is another matter altogether. Which could depend upon leaving a place open for Jota?
Of course, all those decisions, will possibly not all get answered before the CL qualification game comes around?
But still believe that we need to get ourselves in a better shape, within our overall squad, than we currently find ourselves in imo?
Europa league it is then