A decent Europa draw with cracking home ties and great away trips | OneFootball

A decent Europa League draw for Celtic with some cracking home ties, and great away trips…

Celtic will play Marseille (H), Benfica (A), Ferencvaros (H), Union SG (A), Celta Vigo (H), Omonia (A), Besiktas (H) and Torreense (A)…

Europa League Draw. Photo UEFA.com

Celtic earlier today discovered our Europa League fate, and all things considered it’s a draw filled with some difficult challenges, but winnable at the same time, and great away trips for the Celtic supporters to look forward to.

Our home ties are ones that will whet the appetite of the supporters, with French giants Marseille, Turkish side Besiktas, La Liga side Celta Vigo, and old foes Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros all travelling to Celtic Park in the coming months.

Brian Wilson’s commitment. Image Celtic Fans Collective

Marseille and Besiktas will prove to be tough opponents, but in a full house under the Paradise lights, they are fixtures we are more than capable of winning. Celta Vigo and Ferencvaros, our other two home pairing are both ties we should be winning, but ultimately will be tough.

As the away fixtures go, they are all trips to look forward too from a supporters perspective, with the trip to Lisbon to take on Benfica undoubtedly the toughest tie of the eight fixtures. Anyone who watched Benfica dismantle Hearts will know that this one is going to be a tough challenge in such an iconic arena.

We face another trip to Portugal to face the more unknown Torreense.

Torreense play in the Portuguese second tier, and are in the competition due to causing a huge upset in last season’s Portuguese national, when the third place second tier side beat the might of Sporting Lisbon in the final that was hosted in a stadium familiar to Celtic fans, the Estádio Nacional.

On paper it seems like a fixture we should be well capable of winning, but if you know anything about Celtic in European football, then you will know that it’s the potential proverbial banana skin!

25th January 2026; Tynecastle, Scottish Premiership Football, Hearts versus Celtic; Hearts owner Tony Bloom. Photo Geo

Further trips to Belgium to take on Union Saint-Gilloise, a side who are bankrolled by hearts supremo Tony Bloom, and the sunnier climate of Cyprus to face Omonia also lie in wait. Two ties that will also have their challenges, but again decent trips for the supporters.

LASK vs Celtic, Linz 25 August 2026 – UEFA Champions League, play-off, the disappointment of Luke McCowan, Reo Hatate and Kasper Hogh. GEPA pictures/Manuel Binder/ IMAGO

The consensus among the supporters is that whilst a tough draw, it throws up some tasty ties, and one that gives us a chance of qualifying for the knockout stages.

However for a side that can’t see out an hour of football with a 4-0 aggregate lead we can take absolutely nothing for granted.

Celtic CEO Michael Nicholson is seen during the Scottish Premiership 2026/27 match between Celtic and Dundee at Celtic Park on August 03, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Maybe Michael Nicholson will be looking at these fixtures and thinking “if I sign a keeper, a couple of full-backs, two midfielder and a centre-back the we could actually get through this and maybe win it…” 

Or maybe we’re just happy to PARTICIPATE.

Just an Ordinary Bhoy

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