Time to go back for Strelec, Celtic…

Celtic will play Kairat Almaty for a place in the Champions league group stages after the Kazakh side overcame Slovan Bratislava on spot kicks in last night’s third round play off in Slovakia.

HERE ARE THE MATCH HIGHLIGHTS…

With Slovan now eliminated from Europe’s financially lucrative premier competition and therefore missing out on the riches that go with it, they may well be tempted to cash in on their prize asset, their striker David Strelec.

The Slovakian international was the subject of a failed bid from Celtic back in January, mainly due to the price tag Slovan chiefs placed on their star player at that time, but with the club missing out on a Champions League bounty they might well be tempted to cash in on the striker to balance the books.

Places closer to Almaty than Celtic Park:

🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan
🇮🇳 Mumbai, India
🇹🇭 Bangkok, Thailand

Places closer to Celtic Park than Almaty:

🇦🇫 Kabul, Afghanistan
🇮🇶 Baghdad, Iraq
🇺🇿 Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Now this, this is what you call an away day… European competition?! 👀🤣 pic.twitter.com/C9TqERg8lP

— Everything Celtic (@aboutceltic) August 13, 2025

And the player himself might now feel that the time is right to make the move to advance his own playing career.

Strelec ticks all the boxes to be a Celtic centre forward, he’s good in the air, he’s strong, mobile, and more importantly he can find the back of the net on a regular basis as his decent career goal ratio of 68 goals in 198 appearances would suggest.

61 of those strikes have been over two spells with Slovan, with the last couple of seasons seeing him have his most prolific patch both domestically and in Europe, not forgetting internationally with Slovakia.

Could Strelec be the man to solve Celtic’s striking crisis and come in to replace Kyogo almost seven months after Celtic’s first attempt to being him to Paradise?

We’ll have to wait and see.

Trips to Kazakhstan is nothing new for Celtic ✈️

2013
(🇰🇿) Shakhter Karagandy L 0-2
(🍀) Shakhter Karagandy W 3-0

WON 3-2 on agg

2017
(🍀) Astana W 5-0
(🇰🇿) Astana L 3-4

WON 8-4 on agg pic.twitter.com/6NBPl3gjj7

— Celtic Curio (@Celticcurio) August 13, 2025

Celtic will take on FC Kairat in the UEFA Champions League play-off after the Kazakhstan Champions edged out Slovan Bratislava in the battle to face the Hoops. Slovan’s 1-0 win on the night after Robert Mak scored what turned out to be the only goal of the game after half an hour’s play, so after ninety minutes that goal was enough to level the tie.

No further goals in extra time in what was an evenly contested match. So the game went to penalties with Slovan at one stage 3-1 ahead in the shoot-out. However things went horribly wrong for the hosts after that with FC Kairat ending up 4-3 winners on penalties after the tie ended 1-1.

Celtic will now face FC Kairat as Celtic Park in the first leg of the Champions League play-off next Wednesday night (20 August) looking to build up a comfortable lead ahead of the 3500 miles trip to Almaty in Kazakhstan, near the border with China for the second with the Kazakh champions on Tuesday 26 August.

Founded in 1954, Kairat has a rich history, including four national titles and ten Kazakhstan Cups. Their home ground, Almaty Central Stadium, presents unique challenges, with a near 7,000-mile round trip, a four-hour time difference, high summer temperatures, and altitude to contend with all just a few days before Celtic have the first Glasgow Derby of the season at Ibrox on Sunday 31 August.

Kairat’s playing style is characterised by a progressive, possession-based approach, with bursts of pressing and an emphasis on exploiting width and transitional spaces. Their recruitment strategy blends seasoned Kazakh players with South American flair, particularly Brazilians.

One notable talent is 17-year-old forward Dastan Satpaev, who has already made headlines as the club’s youngest-ever goalscorer and is set for a move to Chelsea in 2026 for a league record fee.

However, Kairat’s European record remains modest, and their defence can be vulnerable to quicker, more clinical opposition. Slovan Bratislava were limited to just one shot on target – which they scored from – which suggests that Kiarat’s defence will be resolute at Celtic Park.

They are not a team that are going to score too many goals – and their goal in the first leg win against Slovan came from the penalty spot.

Finally spare a thought for the Celtic supporters – including Conor Spence from this parish – who has already booked his flights to and from Bratislava.

Celtic will face Kairat Almaty in the #UCL qualifying play-off round.

The 1st leg is at Celtic Park next Wednesday, with the away leg in Kazakhstan a week later.

Kairat Almaty are the easternmost club in the #UCL – 3,536m from Glasgow – further east than Afghanistan & Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/jklTkKiOag

— Anthony Joseph (@AnthonyRJoseph) August 12, 2025

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CELTIC IN THE EIGHTIES BY DAVID POTTER, FOREWORD BY DANNY McGRAIN is published by Celtic Star Books on the fifth day of September. You can pre-order now to guarantee your copy which will be signed by Danny McGrain, with just a limited number of signed copies still available, although they are selling very quickly.

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