WHO HOOPS COULD FACE IN EUROPA LEAGUE
IT’S not all doom and gloom for Celtic after their Champions League elimination at the hands of AEK Athens – because the adventure is not over yet.
The Euro journey goes on in the Europa League and Brendan Rodgers’ side will be strong favourites no matter who they face in the play-off round.
The likelier of the two sides will be Suduva – a team Celtic faced in the UEFA Cup in 2002 and trounced 10-1 on aggregate, including an 8-1 thrashing at Celtic Park.
That was the first step forward in a memorable campaign on the continent for Martin O’Neill’s side as they made it all the way to the 2003 final in Seville, before they were beaten by Porto 3-2 after extra time.
Suduva was the beginning of it all – and it also came after Celtic were eliminated in Champions League qualifying – so the Hoops be hoping if they are to face the Lithuanians it can be the start of something similar this time.
Guilherme Finkler’s goal means they are in the box seat against Spartaks Jurmala but the Latvians will be hoping they can overturn the deficit away from home tomorrow.
Whichever team Celtic face, they stand a good chance of making it through to the Europa League group stage for the first time since 2015 under Ronny Deila, when they picked up just three points and failed to win a game against Molde, Ajax or Fenerbahce.
Lying in wait if they reach the group stages are the likes of AC Milan, Villarreal, Marseille, Bayer Leverkusen, Chelsea, Arsenal, Lazio and last year’s Champions League rivals Anderlecht.
Stuart Hodge