The Scottish champions are seeking to advance past the league phase with a point against Atalanta.
A point in Bergamo has Celtic fans dreaming of more Champions League glory nights, and they are expected to at least reach the play-off round following the Atalanta draw.
Brendan Rodgers’ team returned from a crushing defeat at the hands of Borussia Dortmund to earn a crucial point against the Europa League winners, bringing their total to four after the Scottish champions thrashed Slovan Bratislava on the first day of the league phase competition. The Hoops will play back-to-back home games against RB Leipzig and Club Brugge in Glasgow’s east end, followed by matches with Dinamo Zagreb, Young Boys and Aston Villa.
Now the Opta supercomputer has stated that Celtic finishing the campaign with 11 points is the most likely scenario – with a 17.6 per chance of that being the final tally. And after a project that saw the boffins run a whopping 50,000 simulations it is stated that the Premiership leaders are most likely to finish in 22nd spot with a probability of 6.2 per cent.
That would be enough to ensure a spot in the playoff rounds of the competition for Callum McGregor and Co. Teams ranked in the top eight of the league stage will qualify automatically for the round of 16 as seeded teams, while teams finishing between the 9th and 24th place will enter the playoff phase. Those sides will face off to determine the eight teams that will take part in the round of 16 draw as unseeded teams.
Should Celtic emerge from the league phase, it would spell a bumper payday for the club with UEFA divvying up a whopping £733m prize pot to their elite clubs. Celtic are handed £15.7m just for reaching the group phase with each win in the league phase banking £1.9m per win and £600k is handed out for a draw. Based on the supercomputer’s estimates another two wins and a draw should be attainable to secure a £6.9m payday in total.
The club will also get a performance-related reward based on its final overall standings. The initial worth of each share will be £236K, with the lowest ranked team receiving one share, however this increases as you move up the 36-team table. Celtic is expected to finish 22nd, earning a £3.3 million bonus.
