Celtic Drawn Against LASK as Hearts and Rangers Discover Potential European Opponents
Celtic already know their Champions League play-off opponent. Rangers and Hearts are still waiting on results elsewhere, but this week's draws have now mapped out exactly who could stand between all three clubs and a place in Europe's top two competitions.
Celtic land LASK
Celtic will face Austrian champions LASK in the Champions League play-off round, a two-legged tie for a place in the competition's league phase. The first leg is at Celtic Park on 18/19 August, with the return in Austria on 25/26 August. It is the biggest test yet of Martin O'Neill's second spell in charge since he was confirmed as Celtic manager in June, and a win would guarantee Scotland's champions a lucrative return to the league phase for a third straight season.
Who are LASK?
LASK won last season's Austrian Bundesliga for only the second time in the club's history, finishing two points clear of Sturm Graz. They are managed by Dietmar Kühbauer and play their home games at the Raiffeisen Arena in Linz, which holds just over 19,000. Having never reached the Champions League league phase before, LASK will arrive at Celtic Park as underdogs on paper but as a side with genuine European pedigree at Europa League and Conference League level in recent years.
Rangers await the Jagiellonia verdict
Rangers' route is still one step behind Celtic's. Ibrox side first have to get past Jagiellonia Białystok in the Europa League third qualifying round, which kicks off this week, before any play-off opponent is confirmed. Should Rangers progress, they would face either Larne or Iberia Tbilisi in the play-off, with the first leg at Ibrox on Thursday 20 August and the return a week later. Larne, Northern Ireland's champions, dropped into the Europa League after a 9-0 aggregate defeat to Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League second qualifying round.
Hearts face a daunting task of their own
Hearts have arguably the toughest assignment of the three clubs. They travel to Lisbon this week for the first leg of their Europa League third qualifying round tie against Benfica, one of the competition's traditional heavyweights. Should the Tynecastle side pull off an upset over the two legs, they would meet the loser of Aarhus against Sabah in the play-off round, with that tie's first leg scheduled for 20 August. It is a strictly hypothetical draw for now — Hearts must beat Benfica first.
What it means for Scottish football
A clean sweep of European group-stage football for Celtic, Rangers and Hearts would be a significant result for Scotland's coefficient and for the country's standing in UEFA's competitions. Celtic's tie is the most straightforward to project given LASK's play-off ranking, while Rangers and Hearts both still have qualifying rounds to navigate before their play-off opponents are locked in. All three ties are scheduled to be played out over the next few weeks, with final league-phase and play-off places confirmed before the end of August.
Sources: The Scotsman, SPFL, BBC Sport, Yahoo Sports, Read Rangers, August 3, 2026.