Slovan will be Celtic’s preferred option due to travelling distances | OneFootball

Slovan Bratislava surely our preferred option, mainly because of the distance involved in travelling to Kazakhstan a few days before the trip to Ibrox…

Fans of SK Slovan Bratislava cheer their team prior to the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD7 match between SK Slovan Bratislava and VfB Stuttgart at on January 21, 2025 in Bratislava, Slovakia. (Photo by Christian Hofer/Getty Images)

FC Kairat and Slovan Bratislava will do battle tomorrow evening in the first leg of the champions league third qualifying round, with the winner of the overall tie the only thing standing between Celtic and qualification for the champions league group stage.

The match will take place in Almaty in south eastern Kazakhstan which is a whopping 3,500 plus miles from Glasgow with the shortest flight time around 11 hours.

Whilst we would feel reasonably comfortable about our chances of facing Kairat if they prevail over the two legs, especially in Glasgow as their away record on their travels in European competition is not the best, and a packed Paradise could prove too much for the Kazakhstan league leaders, a trip to Almaty for ourselves however is not one we would want. And that’s simply down to the challenging logistics.

Rafael Urazbakhtin, Head Coach of FC Kairat looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 first qualifying round first leg match between Olimpija and Kairat Almaty at Stadion Stozice on July 08, 2025 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. (Photo by Jurij Kodrun/Getty Images)

Kairat are clearly a decent side

Kairat are clearly a decent side on their home turf, and with the game being played in near 30 degree heat and the travel involved it would prove to be something of a hindrance for ourselves, especially with a Glasgow derby at Ibrox our next port of call after the Champions League play-off second leg.

That would make Slovan very much our preferred option. The Slovakians are a side we know well, having easily disposed of them at Celtic Park in the group stage last year, and logistically Bratislava poses no such strenuous challenges.

Both Kyogo and Nicolas Kuhn yet to be replaced

However as Brendan Rodgers has pointed out, quality recruitment is needed to get Celtic back to the standard of the team that beat Slovan 5-1 at the start of the Champions League group stages last season. With both Kyogo and Nicolas Kuhn yet to be replaced nothing can be taken for granted.

However I think it’s safe to say that we would all prefer Slovan Bratislava to win tomorrow evening.

This was as kind a draw as Celtic could have hoped for

And remember that the draw was just about as kind to Celtic as it was possible to be. There should be no excuses if we don’t make it through and lose out on around £40m of Champions League income – the Europa League money is small change by comparison.

Just an Ordinary Bhoy

More Stories / Latest News

Slovan will be Celtic’s preferred option due to travelling distances

Aug 5 2025, 17:27

Perfect Weekend For The Board And Supporters, But Deficiencies Can’t Be Ignored

Aug 5 2025, 16:50

“It’s such a big club and I’m happy to come here,” Jahmai Simpson-Pusey

Aug 5 2025, 14:58

CELTIC IN THE EIGHTIES BY DAVID POTTER, FOREWORD BY DANNY McGRAIN is published by Celtic Star Books on the fifth day of September. You can pre-order now to guarantee your copy which will be signed by Danny McGrain, with just a limited number of signed copies still available, although they are selling very quickly.

Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter, pre-order now

Alec McNair – Celtic’s Icicle now FREE and with FREE postage when ordering with David Potter’s last book Celtic in the Eighties

Thank you to everyone who has already pre-ordered and don’t worry, your copy will be signed by the legendary Celtic and Scotland star who captained Celtic for the early years of the 1980s.

And from today we’ve reduced the price of an earlier David Potter book – Celtic’ Icicle – Alec McNair – which you’ll receive for FREE when you order with Celtic in the Eighties. So  you get two great Celtic books by David Potter and better still the postage is only charged on one. Offer available for a short period only as we have a very limited number of copies of David’s wonderful book on Alec McNair left.

So why have one brilliant David Potter book when you can enjoy two?

Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter. Foreword by Danny McGrain. Published on Celtic Star Books on 5 September 2025. Click on image to pre-order.

Help raise funds for Celtic Youth Academy by playing the Celtic Pools Weekly Lottery and you could win up to £25,000. The lottery is £1 per week. Click on image to join.