Celtic drawn against LASK for Champions League playoff

Celtic will face Austrian champions LASK in a two-legged UEFA Champions League playoff tie, with the winner advancing to the competition's lucrative league phase. The draw was conducted on Monday, August 3, 2026, in Nyon, Switzerland.

The first leg is scheduled for August 18 or 19 at Celtic Park in Glasgow. The return leg will be played the following week on August 25 or 26 at LASK's Raiffeisen Arena in Linz. The Scottish champions, managed by Martin O'Neill, enter the playoff round directly as Scottish Premiership title holders, while LASK qualified by winning the 2025-26 Austrian Bundesliga.

LASK's domestic title last season was only the second in the club's history and their first since 1965, a achievement their manager Dietmar Kühbauer described as a fairytale. The Austrian side also completed a domestic double last season, replicating a feat they last accomplished 61 years earlier. Their recent European form, however, has been less impressive, with just one win in their last 14 continental matches.

The tie represents a significant hurdle for Celtic's European ambitions. The Scottish club faltered at the same playoff stage last season, eliminated by Kazakhstan's Kairat Almaty...