Celtic handed mouth-watering Champions League draw - including German trip, EPL task and Euro champions

Celtic have been handed a mouth-watering fixture list in the new 24/25 Champions League.

Celtic will face a trip to Borussia Dortmund and the iconic Signal Iduna Park after they were handed a compelling draw in the revamped main phase of Europe's elite competition.

Brendan Rodgers' men will also face tricky matches against Europa League champions Atalanta and Bundesliga giants Red Bull Leipzig alongside ties against Young Boys, Club Brugge, Slovan Bratislava and Dinamo Zagreb as part of their eight-match campaign.

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However, perhaps most intriguingly, Celtic will be thrust into their first European clash against an English Premier League side since the 16/17 UEFA Champions League group stage games against Manchester City after being drawn against Unai Emery’s Aston Villa - meaning a battle with Scotland favourite John McGinn at Villa Park.

The Hoops’ trip to Dortmund will be the first time the sides have clashed in over two decades, when Celtic lost 1-0 at Westfalenstadion on 20 October 1992 due to a second-half strike from Swiss football icon Stéphane Chapuisat. For Leipzig, it will be a quick return to Glasgow after the Bundesliga outfit faced both Celtic and Old Firm rivals Rangers in 2022, while the trip to the Midlands will be the face time both Aston Villa and the Hoops have faced each other in European competition.

Confirmed home games against Club Brugge, Red Bull Leipzig, Young Boys and Slovan Bratislava, though, will give Celts fans genuine optimism that they can progress to the knockout stage of the competition for the first time since 2012.

Celtic will be hoping for more memorable Champions League nights this season. Cr: SNS Group.Celtic will be hoping for more memorable Champions League nights this season. Cr: SNS Group.
Celtic will be hoping for more memorable Champions League nights this season. Cr: SNS Group. | SNS Group

How will the new Champions League format work?

With the group stage now scrapped in favour of a ‘League Phase’. The new Champions League format will see 36 clubs participate in a ‘league phase’. Competing sides will no longer play three teams home and away in a group and will instead take on eight different sides with four home games and four away games. In order to determine fixtures. They will play one match against a team from each pot at home, and one away.

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Celtic’s Champions League fixture list

The schedule for the League Phase - previously known as the group stage - officially begins on Tuesday 17 September 2024, with Celtic’s opening European set to take between 17–19 September 2024. The League Path fixture list is as follows:

Rather than placing teams into groups like the previous format, Celtic will be played in a group with eight teams and play eight fixtures in the Champions League.

Matchday 2: 17–19 September 2024

Matchday 3: 22/23 October 2024

Matchday 4: 5/6 November 2024

Matchday 5: 26/27 November 2024

Matchday 6: 10/11 December 2024

Matchday 7: 21/22 January 2025

Matchday 8: 29 January 2025

The dates of each fixture are set to be announced.

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