‘Celtic will be the most interesting’ – USG captain relishing Europa League clash

Union Saint-Gilloise captain Kevin Mac Allister has picked out the Europa League meeting with Celtic as the fixture he is most excited about following Friday’s draw.

Martin O’Neill’s side will travel to Belgium during the league phase after being paired with the Belgian champions, who have links to Brighton and Hearts through Tony Bloom.

Mac Allister, the brother of Liverpool and Argentina midfielder Alexis, took over the Union captaincy from Christian Burgess this summer and is already looking forward to facing the Hoops.

“There are a lot of good teams in the draw and it is difficult to pick out just one game that excites me more than others,” Mac Allister said via TCW.

“But if I am honest, Celtic at home will be the most interesting.

“I really like Scottish teams like Rangers and Celtic.

“I am also looking forward to playing in Turkey against Besiktas because the atmosphere is always great there and the fans boo you when you touch the ball.”

Union boss David Hubert was similarly pleased to see Celtic emerge from the draw, identifying O’Neill’s side as one of the biggest names among their eight opponents.

“There are three champions in the draw – Celtic, Hapoel Beer-Sheva and Lech Poznan.

“They are big names. We know that the Europa is a competition where we can make an impression.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t draw an English Premier League club, which is disappointing, but Celtic is still a close call.

“We’ll have to be at our best to get points. The ambition is to get through the group stage and perhaps be the surprise package again.”