Celtic’s Champions League fixtures have now been confirmed following Thursday’s draw, with the competition set to debut its hotly anticipated new format later this month.
Brendan Rodgers’ side will be Scotland’s sole representatives in this year’s tournament - Rangers dropped down to the Europa League after being eliminated by Dynamo Kyiv in the UCL qualifying rounds.
The Northern Irishman is intent on improving Celtic’s fortunes in Europe, with the Glasgow club failing to reach the competition’s knockout stages since 2013.
Last season's 2-0 defeat to Lazio in the group stages meant Celtic became the first British side in history to go 15 games without a win in the Champions League.
There is reason for Hoops fans to be optimistic about this year’s fixtures, though.
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According to Opta analysis, the Scottish champions have been handed the easiest schedule in the competition, with the average overall rating of their opponents ranked the lowest among all 36 clubs.
Celtic have been drawn against some of the lowest-ranked sides in the tournament in Young Boys and Slovan Bratislava - Swiss club Young Boys are ranked 137th in the world, with Slovan Bratislava 154th.
The Celts have also been given the best possible Pot 1 draw in Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig.
Bayern Munich have the second-easiest league phase fixtures, facing Dinamo Zagreb, Shakhtar Donetsk and Slovan Bratislava.
𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐚 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒-𝟐𝟓: Fixture Difficulty 🗓️
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) September 2, 2024
We've used the Opta Power Rankings to assess the quality of each team's eight opponents in the new-look Europa League group stage.
Here's what we found: https://t.co/2JWhHSUaUS
✍️ @alitweedale pic.twitter.com/9p8nx4ucpc
Who has the toughest Champions League draw?
French champions Paris-Saint-Germain face the toughest draw of all with a rating of 92.4, including away trips to Arsenal and German giants Bayern Munich, as well as home ties against Atletico Madrid and Manchester City, who are currently ranked as the best team in the world.
Celtic’s Champions League 2024/25 fixtures in full:
September 18 (H) vs Bratislava
October 1 (A) vs Dortmund
October 23 (A) vs Atalanta
November 5 (H) vs RB Leipzig
November 27 (H) vs Club Brugge
December 10 (A) vs Dinamo Zagreb
January 22 (H) vs Young Boys
January 29 (A) vs Aston Villa
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