Celtic draw LASK as British clubs learn Euro play-off paths
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Celtic were paired with Austrian champions LASK in the Champions League play-off, hosting the first leg on August 18/19 with the return on August 25/26; the losers drop into the Europa League league phase as a safety net
- Brighton, who finished eighth in the Premier League last season, drew Romanian side CFR Cluj or Norwegian club Tromsø in the Conference League play-off (August 20 and 27), either side of their opening league fixture against Aston Villa on August 23
- Rangers travel to Poland to face Jagiellonia Białystok in the Europa League third-round qualifying first leg on Thursday; a win would set up a play-off against Northern Irish champions Larne or Georgia's Iberia 1999, with the first leg at Ibrox on August 20
- Hearts, who dropped into the Europa League after their Champions League exit, must first beat Benfica in the third round before facing AGF Aarhus or Sabah in the play-off (first leg at Tynecastle, August 20)
- Motherwell were drawn against Bundesliga club Freiburg — last season's Europa League finalists — in the Conference League play-off, provided they come through HJK Helsinki in the third round
- Hibernian will meet IFK Göteborg or Gent in the Conference League play-off if they eliminate KF Shkëndija this week
- Both Rangers and Hearts have requested that their Premiership fixtures between the play-off legs be rearranged, with Rangers vs St Mirren and Hearts at Falkirk affected
Why it matters: The draws turn abstract summer planning into concrete August schedules for seven British and Irish clubs chasing European league-phase revenue and seeding. Brighton's favourable-looking Conference League tie against Cluj or Tromsø — bookended by their Premier League opener against Aston Villa on August 23 — gives them a realistic first taste of European football, while Celtic's losers-drop-to-Europa-League safety net softens the risk of an LASK upset.
