Celtic Face LASK as Scottish Clubs Learn European Foes
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- Celtic drew Austrian champions LASK in the Champions League play-off round with a home first leg on 18-19 August; the source calls it "probably the toughest draw Celtic could have been given," noting LASK won their first domestic title since 1965 and qualified directly for the play-off round under manager Dietmar Kuhbauer.
- Rangers would face Northern Irish champions Larne or Georgia's Iberia Tbilisi in the Europa League play-offs if they beat Jagiellonia Bialystok; if Rangers lose, they drop to Czech side Jablonec or Latvia's RFS in the Conference League play-offs, with a potential home first leg on 20 August.
- Heart of Midlothian, who dropped to the Europa League after losing to Sturm Graz in Champions League qualifying, will face AGF Aarhus (Denmark) or Sabah (Azerbaijan) should they defeat Benfica; a loss routes them to Paide Linnameeskond (Estonia) or Austria's Rapid Vienna in the Conference League play-offs.
- Motherwell drew Bundesliga side Freiburg, last season's Europa League runners-up beaten by Aston Villa in the final, conditional on first beating Finland's HJK Helsinki; a home first leg awaits should they progress.
- Hibernian will take on Sweden's IFK Gothenburg or Belgium's Gent if they eliminate Shkendija of North Macedonia, but their first leg would be away — the only Scottish side without a confirmed home opener in this round.
- Martin O'Neill is named as Celtic's current manager, with Celtic's tie against LASK opening the play-off window on 18-19 August ahead of Rangers and Hearts on 20 August.
Why it matters: Celtic's draw is the seeded side's stiffest test, pitting them against an LASK side who just won Austria's Bundesliga for the first time in 60 years. For four other Scottish clubs, every draw is conditional on a prior round result, meaning a single upset — Hearts losing to Benfica, say — reroutes them to a different competition entirely.
