Kris Boyd couldn’t hide a smirk as he took a playful dig at Celtic, despite acknowledging that Brendan Rodgers’ side has a solid chance of making an impact in the Champions League this season.
Celtic kick off their league phase campaign against Slovak champions Slovan Bratislava, entering the match as favourites at Parkhead. With a packed stadium behind them, the fans are optimistic about a winning start that could set the tone for a push towards a top 24 finish and a play-off spot.
The Champions League’s revamped format guarantees Celtic’s European campaign will stretch into January, as each team now plays eight games instead of the usual six.
After Bratislava, Celtic face a string of tough opponents, including Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta, RB Leipzig, Club Brugge, Dinamo Zagreb, Young Boys, and Aston Villa. However, Boyd, speaking to Sky Sports, felt the fixture draw had favoured the Scottish champions.
“I think they’ve got more of a chance of qualifying because of the new format,” Boyd said.
“With the home games, Celtic will fancy themselves to pick up some decent points. They’ve got some difficult away games, but you look at Dinamo Zagreb last night, Celtic have got to think ‘Can we go to Croatia and get something or beat them?’ Take RB Leipzig out of it, the other three home games give Celtic a really good chance of picking up victories.”
Despite this, Boyd couldn’t resist a cheeky jab at Celtic’s patchy European record in recent years, where they’ve struggled to progress from the group stages in both the Champions League and Europa League.
He wrapped up his thoughts with a sly comment: “The format has definitely enhanced their chances of qualifying for that knockout stage, shall we say? Celtic fans might get to see their team play in Europe after Christmas. It’s not happened for a while…”
Boyd’s grin was unmistakable as he delivered the dig, but with their Champions League adventure stretching into 2025, it might be Celtic who have the last laugh.