Celtic – Champions League Group Stage Opponents

Celtic make a return back to the group stages of the Champions League this season after they came through their play-off tie with Hapoel Be’er Sheva.
The Scottish champions took a 5-2 lead away from Celtic Park with them to Israel where they lost 2-0 to ensure a 5-4 win on aggregate and a spot in the draw for the next round, rather than falling into the Europa League once again.
It is the first time in three years that Celtic will feature in the group stage of Europe’s premier competition along with the elite from across the continent. They will bank a reported £22 million in revenue for the additional six games that they will feature in before the knockout stages of the tournament.
Celtic sat in pot four for the draw in Monaco given they have fallen down the UEFA coefficient table and had to qualify via the play-offs this year.
Brendan Rodgers’ side could not have been drawn against a tougher side from pot one as they will sit in Group C with Barcelona. The Spanish giants are the favourites to lift the trophy at the Millennium Stadium in May.
Celtic fans though will be hoping their side can repeat their famous victory over the Catalan side as they beat the Spanish champions 2-1 (BBC) in 2012 thanks to goals from Victor Wanyama and Tony Watt. That evening ranks up there as one of the greatest nights in Celtic’s European history.
Celtic also could not have gotten many tougher games from pot two than they have with Manchester City. With Pep Guardiola in charge (Mail), City will fancy their chances of going all the way in the competition and will be expected to qualify into the last 16 along with Barcelona.
The English side have started well in the Premier League and have scored plenty of goals since Guardiola took charge from Manuel Pellegrini in the summer.
Rodgers will be hoping his team can pick up maximum points against German side Borussia Monchengladbach who are their opponents from pot three. Monchengladbach finished fourth in the 2015/16 Bundeslia to qualify for the play-offs in the Champions League.
They were able to beat Young Boys from Switzerland over two legs to make the group stages. The former German champions famously reached the final of the European Cup in 1977 where they were beaten 3-1 by Liverpool at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
Celtic have started really well this season under Rodgers. They have won both of their games in the Scottish Premiership where they are the 1-4 favourites in the Scottish football betting to lift the title once again in Scotland, despite having strong competition from Old Firm rivals Rangers this season.
Rodgers made a number of signings in the summer to strengthen his squad. Moussa Dembélé and Kolo Touré joined as free agents, while Scott Sinclair made the journey north of the border to sign for the Green Hoops from Aston Villa.