Champions League play-offs: Celtic vs Kairat Almaty facts

Celtic will look to make the most of home advantage as Kairat Almaty come to Glasgow for the first leg of the teams' UEFA Champions League play-off tie.

Last match

This is the first meeting between the teams in UEFA competition.

Celtic

Celtic are bidding to reach the Champions League proper for the 14th time and the fourth season in a row. Their 13 appearances is a Scottish record.

The 1967 European champions reached the knockout phase play-offs in 2024/25, losing 2-3 on aggregate to Bayern München; it was the first time Celtic had reached the knockout rounds since 2013.

Celtic have not successfully negotiated Champions League qualifying since 2017/18; they have since suffered four qualifying eliminations.

The Scottish side's play-off record is W4 L3 with victories in their last two ties. They most recently defeated Kairat's domestic rivals Astana 8-4 in 2017/18 (5-0 h, 3-4 a) and were also victorious against another Kazahkstan side, Shakhter Karagandy, in 2013/14 (0-2 a, 3-0 h).

Celtic have won their home leg in five of their last six play-off ties.

Celtic claimed their 55th league title – and 13th in 14 seasons – in 2024/25.

Kairat

Kairat are aiming to reach the Champions League proper for the first time. Astana, in 2015/16, are the only previous side from Kazakhstan to feature.

This is only Kairat’s third Champions League campaign. They lost in the first qualifying round in 2005/06 and in the second qualifying round in 2021/22.

Kairat’s only participation in a UEFA group stage/league phase was in the 2021/22 UEFA Conference League, when they finished bottom of their section (D2 L4).

The Almaty club did not feature in UEFA competition in either of the last two seasons, their 2022/23 European campaign lasting a single tie as they went down 0-2 on aggregate to Kisvárda of Hungary in the Conference League second qualifying round.

Kairat had last missed out on European competition in 2013/14.

The Kazakhstan team's only previous games against a Scottish team brought a 3-2 aggregate win against Aberdeen in the 2015/16 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round (2-1 h, 1-1 a).

Kairat claimed their fourth league title in 2024.

Key stats

This is Celtic’s 40th European Cup campaign; they are one of only six teams to reach that mark, along with Real Madrid (56), Benfica (45), Bayern (42), Dynamo Kyiv (41) and Ajax (40).

This is Celtic's first European game of the season.

A 1-0 home win against Young Boys on Matchday 6 last season is Celtic's only victory in their last six European matches (D3 L2).

This is Kairat's seventh European game of 2025/26. They beating Olimpija Ljubljana 3-1 on aggregate (1-1 a, 2-0 h) in the first qualifying round, overcoming KuPS of Finland in the second (0-2 a, 3-0 h) and Slovan Bratislava in the third (1-0 h, 0-1 a aet, 4-3 pens).

Kairat are without a win in their last seven UEFA competition away matches (D2 L5).

The Kazakhstan club have never won an away Champions League qualifier (D2 L4) – conceding 14 goals in those six matches – but have six wins from six at home in the competition.