Euro pots full of treats for Gordon's men

Aug 24 2008

CELTIC fans will be hoping to be paired with some fresh European opposition in Thursday's Champions League draw in Monaco.

The Hoops have faced some familiar faces in recent years after competing in the group stages for five of the last six seasons.

And of the eight big guns likely to be in pot one of the draw only Real Madrid, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Arsenal haven't taken on Celtic in recent European combat.

The remaining four - Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool and Lyon - are no strangers to big nights at Parkhead.

In pot two it's a similar story with the Hoops having faced Bayern Munich, Villarreal and Porto before. However, Roma, PSV, Sporting Lisbon, Werder Bremen and Schalke - who still have to qualify - would be something different for Gordon Strachan's men.

Celtic are in pot three and will avoid old foes such as Juventus, FC Basel and Bordeaux plus UEFA Cup winners Zenit St Petersburg.

There could be some interesting opponents in pot four with Belarussians BATE Borisov, Romanians FC Cluj and Danes Aalborg set to appear in the group stages for the first time.

But Celts would want to avoid Olympiakos, Fenerbahce, Fiorentina and Shakhtar Donetsk.