The Scottish Premiership may begin on Saturday, but Celtic will first have to deal with a competition they aren’t quite as dominant in, in the third round of Champions League qualifying.

Last season saw Celtic fall at the final hurdle, losing in the play-off round 2-1 to Slovenian champions Maribor over 2 legs (Maribor, incidentally, managed to eke out 3 points from 3 draws in a group that included Chelsea, Schalke and Sporting CP). This eventually led to a heart-breaking round of 32 exit against Inter Milan in the Europa League, and another limp end to one of Celtic’s European adventures.

So far this season (and it is very, very early to judge) Celtic have looked good. They batted away Iceland’s Stjarnan with ease, 2-0 in the 1st before dusting off the goal-scoring boots for a 4-1 victory in Garðabær. And looking at the teams in the third round of qualifying, you get the sense that Celtic have been lucky in their draw; instead of facing a Champion League C-team (or, more accurately a Europa League B-team) Celtic are up against Azerbaijan Premier League champions Qarabag.



Qarabag are a constant presence in the qualifying stages of Europe’s club competitions; however, they haven’t actually reached a tournament proper since they exited the 1999 Intertoto Cup to Montpellier in the second round (actually, that is also the only time they’ve ever reached a tournament proper). Last season saw them lose 3-2 to Red Bull Salzburg at this point in the competition, despite winning the 1st leg 2-1 at home.

It is likely they will exit at this point yet again; whilst Celtic eventually went out to a team they ‘should’ have beaten last season, our Spreadex traders still fancy them to at least get a home win, at a Celtic/Qarabag Goal Supremacy spread of 1.05-1.25 with a Total Goals spread of 2.35-2.55.

Elsewhere in qualifying there are more than a few interesting match-ups before heavy-hitters Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting CP, Lazio and, of course, Manchester United enter at the play-off stage. English football fans curious about Robert van Persie’s move to Turkey can watch him take on Shaktar Donestk (memorably demolished 7-0 at the Allianz Arena in last season’s round of 16) with Fenerbahce. The Turkish team are narrowly expected to win, at a .

Four time European Cup/Champions League winners Ajax face a trip to Vienna to take on the city’s Rapid namesake. Rapid Vienna haven’t reached the group stages of the tournament since 2005/06, whilst Ajax were dished up a nasty group containing Barcelona and PSG last season. Surprisingly the Austrian side are expected to utilise their home advantage, and sit at a .

Finally, two sides familiar to English fans take on each other, with the Swiss Young Boys take on Monaco. The former had their impressive Europa League form ended by a 7-2 2 leg loss to Everton in the round of 32, whilst the latter infamously knocked Arsenal out of yet another Champions League round of 16. The French side, who finished 3rd in Ligue 1 last season, are expected to nab an away win, at a .

Make sure to check out Spreadex for a host of fixed odds and spread betting opportunities for throughout the !