What to Expect from Celtic’s Opening Games in August…
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers and Callum McGregor Celtic’s captain walk up The Celtic Way with the SPFL Scottish League Trophy before the cinch Premiership match between Celtic FC and Kilmarnock FC at Celtic Park on August 4, 2024 . (Photo by Steve Welsh/Getty Images)
In so many ways Celtic’s season can be shaped by getting off to a strong start and the first calendar month in season 2025/26 is looking especially significant and also rather challenging for the Scottish Champions.
Across three competitions, peril involved in them all and significant challenges domestically away from home as well as whatever is thrown the way of the Premier Sports Cup holders when the draw is made.
Let’s look at the peril there to start. When Brendan Rodgers returned to Celtic in the summer of 2023 he did so with a 100% winning record in domestic cup competitions which resulted in two Scottish final wins wins and three triumphs in League Cup finals to add to the two Scottish Premiership title wins.
That 100% record was lost almost immediately in August 2023 down at Rugby Park with a 1-0 defeat to Derek McInnes’ Kilmarnock. So the Celtic manager will be wary of the League Cup action being considered the least of Celtic’s worries and will be telling his players – including the new arrivals – that aiming for a treble starts here. The Celtic manager will be hoping for a home draw as that will reduce the risk of a shock but you just never know what is going to happen in Scottish football.
Paradise is the place for home comforts for the Celtic supporters and there are two Scottish Premiership challenges to overcome in August. St Mirren are the visitors on Flag Day – on Sunday 3 August as the Scottish Premiership flag is raised at the home of the Champions. Stephen Robinson’s physical side will present a defensive block that any new Celtic signing had better get used to. It’s football but not as they know it! Three points are vital and Celtic should deliver the desired result that will send the supporters home happy.
Newly promoted Livingston are the other visitors to Celtic Park in August. Again the bus will be parked with Livingston manager David Martindale well versed in the awful arts of the lowest block imaginable. He’ll even get to surprise us with how many giants he can fit into his starting eleven. The smart money is on eleven. This will be frustrating for Celtic but ultimately fruitless for the Livingston gaffer who will see better opportunities elsewhere to gather some early season points.
It’s the away games on that are particularly mouth-watering for Celtic in August with trips to Pittodrie and Ibrox to contend with where the risk is as high as it gets in Scottish football.
Celtic visited both venues in the post split round of fixtures back in May and earned a 1-1 draw against theRangers at Ibrox then a 5-1 win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie, a week or so before the sides met again at Hampden in the Scottish Cup Final. While Brendan Rodgers might privately accept similar scores this time around he will have plenty of motivating factors to call upon in both these crucial Scottish Premiership matches.
Aberdeen somehow managed to leave Hampden with the Scottish Cup in May, denying Celtic another treble, leaving Kasper Schmeichel rather embarrassed and club captain Callum McGregor in floods of tears. It was like a uk paypal casino win for the Dons, entirely unexpected but hugely enjoyable for the huge Red Army that made the 146 mile journey down to the National stadium more in hope than expectation.
Photo: Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)
They won’t say it publicly but make no mistake Celtic will be on a revenge mission at Pittodrie looking at putting out Aberdeen’s Northern Lights. Expect the three points to be Paradise bound from that one.
Then there’s Ibrox. Celtic, quite remarkably have played theRangers three times this year and have yet to record a win. And astonishingly Brendan Rodgers will face his third manager of theRangers this year after Philippe Clement was sacked and Barry Ferguson was overlooked after his spell as caretaker failed to spark much in the way of improvement despite getting a win and a draw against Celtic.
Add to that Clement’s one and only win over Celtic came at the start of 2025 means that Celtic’s record against theRangers is the worst in history dating all the way back to the fixture debuting in February 2015.
New Rangers Head Coach Russell Martin ninth dressing room at Ibrox Stadium. Russell Martin unveiled as the new…Photo
IMAGO / Shutterstock
That will annoy Brendan Rodgers and Celtic will go looking for the three points at Ibrox in what will be Russell Martin’s first taste of a Glasgow Derby. A Celtic win over the latest Ibrox club in 2025 is well overdue and hopefully it will be worth the wait when we head over to Ibrox on Sunday 31 August.
However all of the above is just a warm-up for Celtic’s UEFA Champions League play-off tie at towards the end of the month. Put simply in financial terms this could be the most important matches in Celtic’s history.
Celtic FC coach Brendan Rodgers looks on before the Como Cup match between Ajax and Celtic FC at Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium on July 24, 2025 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
As the qualifying rounds continue, Celtic scouts will watch all relevant matches so that Brendan Rodgers will have all the details required. A frightening statistic, one often mentioned by theRangers supporters, is that Celtic has not won a knockout tie in Europe since beating Barcelona in 2004. That has to change in late August or Celtic’s season outside the Champions League will be both underwhelming and costly. It’s simply must win football for the highest stakes Celtic have ever played for.
So, yes August is going to be the month that shapes Celtic’s season with every match winnable and that’s the outcome Celtic supporters are dreaming about already.
