‘Copenhagen it is. A tie that could be important in different ways in terms of coefficient,’ Moravcik67

AFTER TODAY’S Europa League draw which paired Celtic with Copenhagen there’s one man that we’re always interested in hearing from regarding the wider implications and the various permutations and possibilities surrounding things like the nation co-efficient, Celtic’s own rankings and what might be achieved by Celtic getting home and wins over the Danes. That man is of course the recognised expert among the Hoops support for all things to do with the UEFA co-efficients, we are talking about Moravcik67.

Here are his words of wisdom this evening…please note that Copenhagen were a goal down in their final league match before the winter shut down this evening at the time of posting for Moravcik67 but our Europa League opponents fought back to win 2-1 to narrow the gap at the top of the Danish league.

Over to Moravcik67

“1. Better late than never. Copenhagen it is. A tie that could be important in different ways in terms of coefficient.

At a club level, Celtic are currently ranked 46th in Europe, on 33pts, as attached. A win and a draw in the tie gets us up to 40th, two wins up to 39th,” Moravcik67 tweeted this evening.

“2. These rankings determine seeding in qualifiers, and what pot you’re drawn from in the group stage. So even getting a few extra places up the table could make the difference in being seeded in all qualifying rounds next year, or being in a higher pot for a group stage draw.”

“3. At a national level, Scotland is currently 16th in the rankings – as attached – just 0.875pts behind Denmark in 13th.

To get above them, Celtic and Rangers need to combine for the equivalent of 2 wins more than Copenhagen. Doing so would also jump us above the Czech’s.

3.

“4. Of course, you have to consider what the APOEL, Basel and Olympiakos do in their remaining matches.

But what the tie does is allow Celtic to pretty much settle it on our own. It’s a tough ask, but winning home and away would go a long way to confirming Scotland in 13th place.”

“5. 13th place would likely see the Scottish champion start in the playoff round of qualifying, and guarantee group stage football of some sort.

It would give a 2nd CL team, put a team into the new look EL, and give us a 4th and 5th team in the new 3rd competition.”

“6. As for Copenhagen themselves, their performances have usually been around Celtic’s level – but we’ve gained more pts in 4 of the last 5 seasons.

Their last 3 seasons

16/17 – EL Last 16
17/18 – EL Last 32
18/19 – EL Groups (4th)”

7. This season they lost to Red Star Belgrade on penalties in CL QR3, and have draws home and away to Dynamo Kyiv, and a couple of wins over Lugano. They lost to Malmo at home in the final game, resulting in them losing top spot in their group.

“8. They’re currently 2nd in the Danish league, 7pts behind Midtjylland with a game in hand – which they’re losing as I type this (they came back from a goal down to win 2-1 and won’t play again until 4 days before they play Celtic).

It’s definitely one of the better draws we could have got. They’re no mugs, but it’s a tie we have a more than decent chance of winning.”

“9. Finally, we can add 3 new players to the squad before 11pm on 3rd February – on a 1 in, 1 out basis. The rules about locally trained players still need to be met as well.

I’d expect Frimpong to be one of the 3, along with a new forward – should we sign one.”

Lots of interesting stuff to digest there. Earlier today we reported on what the Copenhagen manager said about the draw – see HERE.

We also looked at how they got on in the group stages where they never scored more than one goal in any game and certainly were tight at the back. And Niall J was full of optimism as he gave his thoughts on the draw while reporting on what Neil Lennon was asking at today’s Media Conference.

About Author

The Celtic Star founder and editor, who has edited numerous Celtic books over the past decade or so including several from Lisbon Lions, Willie Wallace, Tommy Gemmell and Jim Craig. Earliest Celtic memories include a win over East Fife at Celtic Park and the 4-1 League Cup loss to Partick Thistle as a 6 year old. Best game? Easy 4-2, 1979 when Ten Men Won the League. Email editor@thecelticstar.co.uk

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