The draw for this season’s Champions League is set to take place this evening, Thursday, August 29 in Monaco at 5pm and as Celtic’s continental campaign draws closer, so too does the dawning of a new era in European football. Not only are the number of teams increasing from 32 to 36, but the familiar group-stage format will make way for a single 36-team league where teams will now play eight fixtures against a variety of opponents. Celtic will be drawn against eight different opponents and will play four matches under the lights at Celtic Park and four away from home across Europe. Teams will be seeded in four pots and each team will then be drawn against two opponents from each of these pots, playing one match against a team from each pot at home, and one, against another team from the pot, away.After all fixtures have been played, the top eight teams in the league table will advance to the last-16, whilst the teams who finish between 9th and 24th will have another chance of reaching the last-16 via a two-legged playoff. These playoffs will also be seeded, with teams from 9th to 16th drawn against teams from 17th to 24th.Sides who finish 25th or lower in the table or who fail to progress past the playoffs will drop out of the competition and there will be no parachute in to the Europa League. It is possible to draw two clubs from the same country, however teams cannot be drawn against sides from their own country. This, however, does not affect the Celts as we are the the only Scottish side in the tournament.Dates and kick-off times for the Hoops’ eight league phase matches will be announced in due course. The eight matchdays are scheduled for the following dates: Matchday 1: September 17/18/19 Matchday 2: October 1/2 Matchday 3: October 22/23 Matchday 4: November 5/6 Matchday 5: November 26/27 Matchday 6: December 10/11 Matchday 7: January 21/22 Matchday 8: January 29
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