Celtic Europa League draw confirmed as Marseille, Benfica and Besiktas await

Martin O’Neill’s side will welcome Marseille, Ferencvaros, Celta Vigo and Besiktas to Celtic Park, while their European travels will take them to Benfica, Union Saint-Gilloise, Omonia and Torreense.

The Hoops dropped into the competition following their damaging Champions League play-off collapse against LASK, surrendering a 4-0 aggregate advantage with just 70 minutes of the tie remaining.

Celtic will now attempt to put that disappointment behind them and secure European football beyond January.

A top-24 finish in the 36-team league table guarantees a place in the knockout phase, while finishing inside the top eight would send O’Neill’s side directly into the last 16.

The opening round of fixtures will be played on September 16 and 17, with the remaining matchdays running through until January 28.

Celtic reached the knockout rounds of the Europa League last season after collecting 11 points and finishing 21st in the league phase.

Victories over Sturm Graz, Feyenoord and Young Boys were supplemented by draws against Red Star Belgrade and Bologna before Celtic’s campaign was eventually ended by Stuttgart, who prevailed 4-2 on aggregate.

There is also a significant financial difference between the competition Celtic will now contest and the Champions League they came agonisingly close to reaching.

Celtic earned around £14million from last season’s Europa League campaign, considerably below the £40.2m generated from their participation in the 2024/25 Champions League.