Celtic set for unique Champions League group stage as World Cup sparks major fixture squeeze

It's been obvious for some time that 2022/23 will bring a season like no other across world football.

That may sound like a line designed to sell you a Sky Sports package but in this instance it really is just a fact.

The Qatar 2022 World Cup is set to intersect the domestic football campaign this winter and that has had knock-on-effects in a number of areas.

The most obvious is the extent it will affect fixture scheduling.

For example, the Scottish Premiership winter break has been brought forward to November 12, with the season then resuming the week before Christmas.

This will coincide with a separate scheduling switch-up for champions-in-waiting Celtic.

A draw with Rangers on Sunday moved Ange Postecoglou 's side one step closer to the league title and the promise of a place in the Champions League group stage.

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Even UEFA 's flagship tournament is making changes to accommodate the World Cup and it's arguably a plus for fans who will be desperate to see their side back at the continent's top table.

The group stage, with the exception of the Covid-hit 2020/21 tournament, traditionally gets under way in the third week of September and rounds off in early December.

But that schedule