Sunderland and Bournemouth draw AC Milan in Europa League

Celtic now possess the comprehensive list of prospective opponents they could encounter during Friday's Europa League league-phase draw, which will occur at Monaco at noon. Celtic Park is set to host four matches, while the remaining four will be away games. Celtic were allocated to Pot 2 for the draw, alongside four other teams within this same pot, ensuring they will face two clubs from Pot 2.

The remaining six teams in the draw are drawn from Pots 1, 3 and 4, featuring notable clubs like Juventus, AC Milan, Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica, Marseille, Sturm Graz, Lech Poznan, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Sunderland, Celje, Jagiellonia, Celta Vigo, Omonia, Hoffenheim, Besiktas, Torreense, Hapoel Be'er Sheva, NEC, Levski Sofia, Ararat-Armenia and Lillestrom.

To advance past the initial round, Celtic must secure a position within the top 24 teams of the 36-team standings. A top-eight finish would spare them from participating in the knockout play-off round, granting them direct entry into the last 16. The inaugural round of fixtures will take place on September 16 and 17, and the league phase will continue until January 28.

Martin O'Neill's team aims to surpass last season's Europa League performance, when they amassed 11 points, finished 21st, and suffered a 4-2 aggregate defeat to Stuttgart in the play-offs. The financial disparity between the competitions is substantial, with Celtic garnering approximately £14 million from last season's Europa League participation, compared to around £40.2 million from their involvement in the Champions League the previous year.