Celtic see potential Champions League playoff opponents emerge as seeds and non seeds projected

Celtic's path to the league phase of next season's Champions League has been projected.

Last term's title win was the last that catapulted the Hoops straight into the big time, as they successfully negotiated the revamped format and booked their spot in the playoff round. A 2-1 home defeat to Bayern Munich means they'll need to produce one of their greatest-ever modern-day results and stage a turnaround in the Allianz Arena to continue their journey.

With a 13-point cushion to Rangers at the top of the Premiership table, it will take a monumental collapse to deny Brendan Rodgers' side a fourth successive crown. However, due to Scotland's drop in the UEFA coefficient rankings, our champions no longer go straight in with the top dogs. Instead, it's a return to the once dreaded qualifiers, although at least Celtic will enter at the final playoff round, rather than have to negotiate several stages as in previous years.

With leagues across Europe entering the decisive months, potential champions are emerging, with some in a similar position to Celtic, possessing commanding leads and looking nailed on to finish top of the pile and book their playoff spot along with their winners' medals. The good news is Celtic are likely to be seeded, with FC Copenhagen, Bodo/Glimt, Crvena Zvezda and Ferencvaros joining them, assuming they all remain at the summit for the remainder of the season.

It's the non seeds that Celtic need to be concerned with. Football Rankings has looked at the leagues whose eventual champions are expected to reach the playoff round to project what the draw could look like for the Parkhead club when the time comes.

And there could be a quickfire reunion with Slovan Bratislava, which will have Hoops fans rubbing