The inaugural league phase draw of the UEFA Champions League has seen Celtic drawn against Borussia Dortmund and Aston Villa.
The new format should be a welcome reprieve to a lot of the lesser clubs, all too familiar with being drawn against some of the game's behemoths and never getting within touching distance of a place in the knockout rounds. Indeed, Celtic have won just two of their last 24 Champions League group stage games, managing to finish third just once.
But the new format will see the Bhoys face Slovan Bratislava, Young Boys and Dinamo Zagreb, and while there are no guaranteed wins there, it's a more favourable fixture list than they're used to.
Of course, they'll still face quality opposition in Dortmund and Villa, but if Brendan Rodgers' men can get to 10 points, they can feel optimistic of a place in the top 24, while two wins and three draws might also see them through.
Celtic UEFA Champions League fixtures
Fixture | Date |
Slovan Bratislava (h) | Wednesday 18th September |
Borussia Dortmund (a) | Tuesday 1st October |
Atalanta (a) | Wednesday 23rd October |
RB Leipzig (h) | Tuesday 5th November |
Club Brugge (h) | Wednesday 27th November |
Dinamo Zagreb (a) | Tuesday 10th December |
Young Boys (h) | Wednesday 22nd January |
Aston Villa (a) | Wednesday 29th January |
Check our betting hub for the latest UEFA Champions League betting odds.
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