As Celtic prepare to open their Champions League campaign at home to Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday, our friends at Opta have been crunching the numbers behind their European hopes.
Some are favourable, others not so much. Here are the best of them:
Celtic’s fixtures are rated as the easiest across all 36 teams, with an average opponent rating of 87.4 – the unluckiest team on the spectrum, PSG, have their opponents rated five points higher at 92.4.
The Scottish champions are appearing in the European Cup/Champions League for a 28th time, trailing only Manchester United (30 appearances) among British teams.
Celtic have struggled in the competition in recent years, failing to progress from the groups in five straight appearances, while manager Brendan Rodgers has won just three of his 24 games in the tournament.
But the new format and kind draw could help Rodgers’ men, who have a predicted points total of 9.7 and a healthy 57.2% chance of finishing in the top 24, which would guarantee the Glasgow side a place in the next round.
In addition to that, Opta feel Celtic have a 4.5% chance of reaching the quarter-finals.
