Yes, and they are closer than their table position suggests. The top eight go straight into the last 16, while the teams from ninth to 24th go into the knockout phase play-offs.

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Sturm Graz sit 24th on four points, so Celtic are one point off the last play-off place with four games to play.

How many points do Celtic need?

In the two seasons since the Europa League moved to a 36-team table, 24th place has needed 10 points and then nine.

Fenerbahçe took the last spot on 10 in 2024/25, with Braga and Elfsborg going out on the same total on goal difference. Last season, Brann squeezed into 24th on nine and Young Boys missed out on nine.

Eleven points was safe both times, and Celtic themselves finished 21st on 11 last season.

From three points, that leaves O’Neill’s side needing seven more to reach 10, which means two wins and a draw. Getting to 11 would take two wins and two draws.

What it took to finish 24th
2024/25	10 points (Fenerbahçe). Braga and Elfsborg out on 10
2025/26	9 points (Brann). Young Boys out on 9
Celtic now	3 points from 4 games, goal difference minus 5

Why goal difference could decide it

Minus five is a real handicap. If Celtic finish level with a cluster of teams on 10, they are likely to come off worst, so a scrappy one-goal win in Portugal helps less than it looks.

Which Europa League games are the biggest?

The next two. Torreense and Omonia are 19th and 18th, both on six points, which makes the trips to Portugal and Cyprus six-pointers against the teams Celtic are chasing.

Win both and Celtic go to nine points before Marseille come to Celtic Park on 21 January. Lose both and they would be on three with two games left, needing to beat Marseille and Union Saint-Gilloise just to reach nine, a total that has been enough only once in two seasons.

Celtic’s remaining Europa League fixtures
Thursday 26 November	Torreense (away)
Thursday 10 December	Omonia (away)
Thursday 21 January	Marseille (home)
Thursday 28 January	Union Saint-Gilloise (away)

What are Celtic’s chances of qualifying?

Football Ranking currently gives Celtic a 35.6 per cent chance of reaching the knockout phase.

History is against them as well. No side that lost its first three league phase games reached the top 24 in either of the last two seasons, so Celtic would be the first.

After the noise Celtic Park made on Thursday, supporters will want the Marseille game in January to still mean something. Two results on the road will decide whether it does.

Celtic’s next Europa League game is away to Torreense on Thursday 26 November.