Celtic Europa League opponents unveiled as two European heavyweights headline tricky draw

Celtic have discovered who they will face in the league phase of the Europa League.

From pot one, the Hoops have landed Portuguese giants Benfica away from home, as well as Ligue 1 heavyweights Marseille heading for Parkhead. Pot two has paired them against Ferencvaros of Hungary at home alongside a Belgian trip to face Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, where Hearts investor Tony Bloom holds a minority stake. Celta Vigo of Spain’s La Liga came out the draw for pot three in terms of a home fixture alongside a battle against Cypriot outfit Omonia Nicosia.

Besiktas will make the trip to Glasgow as a pot four team and Portuguese second division club Torreense are the away side for Celtic from that shake-up. They qualified for the tournament after winning the Portuguese Cup last season. Boss Martin O’Neill now until 11pm on Wednesday, September 2, to register his final squad for the Europa League matches. It means the Hoops have five days to conclude any more transfer business they may wish to include in their European squad as the Scottish transfer deadline does not shut until 5pm on September 3.

When are Celtic’s Europa League matches?

Action in the league phase of the Europa League takes place on 16/17 September, 15 October, 22 October, 5 November, 26 November, 10 December, 21 January 2027 and 28 January 2027. It is scarcely believable how Celtic have ended up in the Europa League after their Champions League capitluation against LASK.

The Hoops won 3-0 in leg one of their play-off and took the lead away from home in Austria. Then they shipped five straight goals across the rest of regulation and extra time to send them tumbling out of the top UEFA competition.

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