Celtic will look to secure a commanding first-leg advantage on Wednesday evening when they welcome Austrian champions LASK to Celtic Park, with a place in the UEFA Champions League league phase on the line.

Kick-off is scheduled for 8:00pm BST (3:00pm ET / 5:00am AEST on Thursday). Viewers in Ireland can watch the match free of charge on RTE Player, which requires no sign-up and offers English commentary. UK audiences can follow the action on TNT Sports 1, while US fans can stream via Paramount+ and Australian supporters can tune in on Stan Sport.

Celtic's motivation: erasing a painful memory

Celtic enter this tie in strong form, having won all three of their competitive fixtures in the 2026/27 season so far. Manager Martin O'Neill, now in permanent charge after a dramatic final-day Scottish Premiership title win over Hearts — followed by Scottish Cup glory a week later — has his side buzzing with confidence.

Yet the shadow of last season's play-off exit looms large. Celtic failed to score against Kazakh side Kairat across more than four hours of football and were eliminated on penalties, missing out on the league phase for what will have been two consecutive years if they fall short again. The memory of that exit, plus a subsequent Europa League campaign that ended in a first knockout-round defeat to VfB Stuttgart, sharpens the focus considerably.

LASK: a rare double and a historic opportunity

LASK arrive in Glasgow having completed a league and cup double in Austria last season — only the second time in the Linz-based club's history that they have achieved that feat, matching the side of 1964/65. They have carried that momentum into the new campaign, winning all four competitive matches and scoring 16 goals. Forward Samuel Adeniran has been particularly sharp, netting four times in three league appearances.

Manager Dietmar Kuhbauer is targeting something even bigger: guiding LASK into the Champions League main draw for the first time ever. The club previously fell at the play-off stage after their 1965 double, and were beaten by Club Brugge at the same hurdle in 2019/20.

What is at stake

The winner of this two-legged tie advances to the UEFA Champions League league phase. The loser drops into the UEFA Europa League, meaning neither side has anything to lose by being bold. The second leg takes place in Linz next Tuesday.

FourFourTwo's prediction for the first leg is a 1-1 draw, suggesting Celtic will need to be at their best in Austria to seal progression.