Celtic v Astana: play-off contribution and stats
Celtic FC and FC Astana need no introduction after being interconnected together in a UEFA Champions League for a second time in as many seasons.
Previous meetings
• Celtic prevailed when a teams met in final season’s third subordinate round. A 1-1 pull in Kazakhstan was followed by a 2-1 success for a Scottish bar in Glasgow; Leigh Griffiths scored in both matches, with Moussa Dembélé’s 90th-minute chastisement in a second leg proof decisive. Yuri Logvinenko purebred Astana’s first-leg goal.
• The line-ups for a second leg in Glasgow on 3 Aug 2016 were:
Celtic: Gordon, Brown, Griffiths, Armstrong (Touré 61), Janko, Lustig, Roberts (Johansen 31), O’Connell, McGregor, Forrest (Dembélé 75), Tierney.
Astana: Erić, AniÄić, Muzhikov (Despotović 90+3), Nurgaliyev (Ibraimi 57), Shitov, Beysebekov, Twumasi, Logvinenko, Kabananga, Shomko, Cañas.
• Celtic also came out on tip in their usually other tie opposite antithesis from Kazakhstan, branch around a 2-0 first-leg loss during FC Shakhter Karagandy in a 2013/14 play-offs with a 3-0 second-leg win during home.
• The 2016/17 assembly was Astana’s solitary tie opposite a bar from Scotland.
Match background
• Celtic are nonetheless to concur in this season’s competition, overcoming Linfield FC in a second subordinate turn (2-0 away, 4-0 home) and Rosenborg BK in a third subordinate turn (0-0 home, 1-0 away).
• Celtic’s record in 6 UEFA Champions League play-offs is W3 L3. The victories were opposite Hapoel Beer-Sheva FC (2016/17), Shakhtar Karagandy (2013/14) and Helsingborgs IF (2012/13); a defeats came opposite Malmö FF (2015/16), NK Maribor (2014/15) and Arsenal FC (2009/10).
• Celtic are looking to strech a UEFA Champions League organisation theatre for a tenth time; 12 months ago they kick Hapoel 5-4 on total during this theatre (5-2 home, 0-2 away) though could usually finish fourth in their section.
• Qualifying included, Brendan Rodgers’ side have mislaid usually one of their final 7 European games (W3 D3), going down 2-0 during home to FC Barcelona in a UEFA Champions League organisation theatre on 23 Nov 2016.
• Celtic have won only one of their final 5 European home matches (D2 L2).
• Astana got this distant with a 3-2 total success over Legia Warszawa in a third subordinate turn (3-1 home, 0-1 away)
• This is Astana’s third UEFA Champions League campaign. They went all a approach from a second subordinate turn to a organisation theatre on their entrance in 2015/16; final tenure they were knocked out 3-2 on total by Celtic in a third subordinate round.
• Astana went on to strech a UEFA Europa League organisation theatre final season, entrance fourth in their section.
• The 1-0 feat during FK Spartaks JÅ«rmala in a second subordinate turn initial leg was Astana’s initial divided win in a UEFA Champions League during a ninth attempt; their prior record was D4 L4.
• That outcome during Spartaks Jūrmala finished a run of 13 UEFA divided fixtures (D5 L8) but a feat for Astana, given a 3-0 delight during AIK Solna in an Aug 2014 UEFA Europa League qualifier.
Team and manager links
• Aleksandr Mokin and Sergei Maliy featured in both legs for Shakhter Karagandy opposite Celtic in Aug 2013. Neither actor faced Celtic final summer.
Coach profiles
• Northern Irish manager Rodgers led Celtic to their sixth unbroken Scottish Premier League pretension final term, his initial debate in charge, as good as a Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup. The Hoops went by a domestic deteriorate unbeaten.
• Former Bulgaria midfielder Stanimir Stoilov has won 3 joining titles given entrance to Kazakhstan in 2014, as good as steering Astana into a 2016/16 UEFA Champions League organisation theatre – a proviso he had progressing graced as manager of PFC Levski Sofia.