On paper, Celtic’s cheaper games are all home games.
RB Leipzig, The club, who beat the Scottish champions twice two seasons ago, came from Pot 1 after finishing fourth in the Bundesliga last season, 25 points behind title winners Bayer Leverkusen.
Young boys Switzerland and Slovan Bratislava from Slovakia both won their national titles last season, with the latter making their debut in this competition.
And Club Bruges narrowly won the Belgian top division last season after reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League in 2023.
Away from home, however, Celtic’s games seem more difficult.
A trip to the Westfalenstadion to Dortmund will be a tough test, even though the German top club is now under the new management of Nuri Sahin after losing to Real Madrid at Wembley in June under Edin Terzic.
Unai Emery Aston Villa, Meanwhile, they finished fourth in the Premier League, qualifying for the competition for the first time and boasting a strong home record.
Serie A club Atalanta won their first European trophy by ending Bayer Leverkusen’s long winning streak in the Europa League final.
And Zagreb are the reigning Croatian champions and have been unbeaten since March, when they were knocked out of the Conference League after a heavy defeat to PAOK Saloniki.
