Home of football statistics and historyCeltic and Rangers will head into the 2025/26 Europa League campaign eager to demonstrate they can make an impact in European competitions.
The Scottish Premiership duo failed to progress to the group stage of the Champions League and have dropped into UEFA’s second-tier tournament.
The sportsbook attached to one of the most reputable bingo sites in the business does not rate their chances of lifting the trophy next May.
Celtic can be backed at odds of 25/1, while Rangers are rated as 70/1 shots. Many bettors will think bingo offers them a better chance of winning rather than wagering on the Glasgow clubs.
Rodgers faces a tough test with Celtic
- Matchday 1: Red Star Belgrade (A) – September 24
- Matchday 2: Braga (H) – October 2
- Matchday 3: Sturm Graz (H) – October 23
- Matchday 4: FC Midtjylland (A) – November 6
- Matchday 5: Feyenoord (A) – November 27
- Matchday 6: Roma (H) – December 11
- Matchday 7: Bologna (A) – January 22
- Matchday 8: Utrecht (H) – January 29
Celtic will be keen to shake off the embarrassment of their shock Champions League exit against Kairat Almaty when they visit Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday.
Brendan Rodgers’ side are once again leading the way in the Scottish Premiership, but competing in the Europa League will be far more challenging.
The Serbian side are a tough nut to crack on their own patch and are one of several tricky challenges Celtic face in the league phase of the competition.
Despite what looks to be a difficult draw, Rodgers is confident that the Hoops can kick off their Europa League campaign with a positive result.
“We want to have a real good go at this competition,” Rodgers said. “We were competitive in the Champions League last season, which is what we wanted to be.
“And likewise in this tournament here, we feel that we can – with the improvements that we will make as the season goes on – we really want to push to do as well as we can.
“A win? Well, it would be the first step. We look to get a positive performance, take a positive result away with us, and that’s what we aim for.”
Martin under pressure to deliver at Rangers
- Matchday 1: Genk (H) – September 25
- Matchday 2: Sturm Graz (A) – October 2
- Matchday 3: SK Brann (A) – October 23
- Matchday 4: Roma (H) – November 6
- Matchday 5: Braga (H) – November 27
- Matchday 6: Ferencvaros (A) – December 11
- Matchday 7: Ludogorets (H) – January 22
- Matchday 8: Porto (A) – January 29
Rangers manager Russell Martin is under massive pressure after failing to guide the team to any victories in their first five league matches.
Their dismal Champions League qualifying defeat against Club Brugge exposed Martin’s lack of tactical acumen and the lack of quality in his squad.
The Europa League draw has given Martin the opportunity to build some momentum, with their first three games all looking relatively favourable.
However, things get much tougher from Matchday 4 onwards. Despite this, Martin is confident that he can build on Saturday’s Scottish league Cup victory over Hibernian.
“I’m loving the process of working with the players and staff,” Martin said. “Now we want to build as we have to win more games. Saturday has to be the start for us.
“We have to keep winning football matches and put in performances – the fans have got behind the team when we perform. It is up to us to put on another display tomorrow.
“By the end of this group phase, I expect us to be a lot better than we are now. I’m really looking forward to the challenge, and I’ll attack it with all I’ve got.”
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