Celtic will be in an unfamiliar but advantageous spot when they kick off their Champions League qualifiers this season AFTER the league season has already started.
Usually, the bhoys would be trying to get up to speed and be 3/4 through pre-season when these important games come up. Due to circumstances, a late start to the qualifiers has been implemented by UEFA who still have to play out the rest of last seasons competitions.
So when do Celtic start their European campaign?
18th August is the date and every round up until the play-off will be one-off ties.
Celtic will be seeded throughout the qualifiers and will hope they can safely navigate their way through the rounds.
18/08/2020–19/08/2020 First qualifying round
25/08/2020–26/08/2020 Second qualifying round
15/09/2020–16/09/2020 Third qualifying round
22/09/2020–30/09/2020 Play-offs
It only takes one slip up and the club are out of the Champions League for a third season running. There are no provisions for seeded clubs to get home advantage and the team may have to travel away. Celtic must be wary as they don’t travel the best.
Neil Lennon will be heartened by last season’s away trips to Rennes and Lazio and hope the players are up to the task.
If Celtic do manage to qualify, here are the dates for the group stage of the competition.
Group stage
20/10/2020–21/10/2020 Matchday 1
27/10/2020–28/10/2020 Matchday 2
03/11/2020–04/11/2020 Matchday 3
24/11/2020–25/11/2020 Matchday 4
01/12/2020–02/12/2020 Matchday 5
08/12/2020–09/12/2020 Matchday 6
Source: UEFA Website
