Champions League Play-Off
FC Kairat Almaty
~~~~~~~~~~ Official TC Match Preview ~~~~~~~~~~


Hoops hope can Daizen Maeda to make his mark and help qualify for the Champions League


Celtic Park, Glasgow
Wednesday, 20 August 2025
20.00 BST

The Champions League returns on Wednesday evening to Paradise, as Celtic host the visit of reigning Kazakhstan champions, FC Kairat Almaty, as they look to qualify for Europe's elite club competition.

The Hoops are coming into this game on the back of a comfortable 4-1 win over Falkirk in the League Cup on Friday just past, and now face what is one of the most important fixtures of the season, as they look to qualify for the Group Stage of the Champions League.

Celtic really need to make the most of this first clash in Glasgow, because there is a 7000 mile round trip that awaits in the return leg in Kazakhstan. Indeed, this is something that Brendan Rodgers and the trio of Callum McGregor, Kieran Tierney and James Forrest can attest to, as they made the trip in Champions League qualifying campaigns in both 2016 ansd 2017 against FC Astana.

The pressure is even more acute when acknowledging that Celtic have never won away in any of their 3 previous visits to Kazakhstan, and while the Bhoys have always previously managed to qualify from these matchups, on each occasion it has been largely dependant on the results in Glasgow that has been the difference.​

Alistair Johnston capped an impressive display with a goal in the 4-1 win against Falkirk

Who are FC Kairat Almaty?

Founded in 1954 as Lokomotiv Alma-ata, until changing their name the following season to Urozhay, and this was followed by a merger in 1956 so as to unify and represent the region's agricultural workers, which prompted the name change to reflect this to Kairat.

Since the disolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990's, Kairat became one of the leading clubs in the newly independant nation of Kazakhstan, having won the League four times since then, including the most recent 2024 KPL under the guidance of manager Raphael Urazbakhtin.

This campaign, they are currently sitting in 2nd place domestically, but have already bested the champions of Slovenia (Olimpija Ljubljana), Finland (KuPS) and Slovakia (Slovan Bratislava) to set up this matchup.

This is by far the furthest that they have progressed in Champions League qualifying, with their only previous taste of Continental Group Stage football coming in the 2021/22 Conference League, where they finished bottom of their Group.

All of which should be a marker that this current Kairat side are due the respect to have successfully fought through to reached this point, and cannot simply be taken for granted, especially with such a coveted spot in the Group Stage draw on offer.

Kairat are coming into this game on the back of a disappointing 3-2 defeat against Yelimay Semey, which was all the more frustrating after they establishing a 2-0 lead by the half hour mark, before conceding 3 unanswered goals in a tempestious affair which ended with both sides down to 10 men.


Jorginho (right) in action for Kairat. The Portuguese striker has scored 9 times this season

Stats & Facts​

• The Hoops are undefeated in each of their last 6 straight 'home' games (W5 D1) since March, with 17 goals scored and 4 conceded during that run.

• Celtic have won all 3 previous 'home' matches against teams from Kazakhstan, in 2013 (v Shaktar Karagandy) as well as 2016 and 2017 (both against FC Astana).

• James Forrest has scored 14 career goals in European competitions - 12 of which have come during the Qualifying process (8CL 4EL), including 2 against Kazakhstan opposition.

• Kairat Almaty's only previous visit to Scotland resulted in a 1-1 draw against Aberdeen in 2015 Europa League qualification - a tie that they won overall.

Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel is expected to return for this Champions League Play Off match

Team News

ASide from Jota's continued absence (knee), Brendan Rodgers will have a full squad to select from. That said, the manager made a number of changes to the starting XI for the match against Falkirk, and it will be interesting to see how many of those players will keep their spots for tomorrow evening's match.

As for Kairat, they also made 5 changes at the weekend from the side that managed to squeeze past Slovan Bratislavia last week. Valery Gromyko will sit out this first leg through suspension, while Yegor Sorokin is a doubt for the first leg also, as there has been some complications concerning his visa application and faces a race against time.

A couple of players to watch out for are the experienced Jorginho, who has 9 goals and 9 assists so far this season, as well as the promising youngster, Dastan Satpaev, who has just turned 17 and has agreed terms to join Chelsea next year, following the conclusion of the current 2025 KPL season.

Referee: Espen Eskas (NOR)

The Norwegian has previously officiated Celtic twice. The first was in the Europa League, when Celtic defeated Stade Rennais, 3-1 in 2019, but more recently it was a Champions League 3-1 loss to RB Leipzig in 2022.

Overall Record
P:2 W:1 D:0 L:1

VAR: Dennis Johan Higler (NED)

Weather

It is expected to be sunny in Glasgow tomorrow, turning cloudy in the evening, with temperatures expected around the 17ºC mark at kick-off.



~~~~ Head to Head ~~~~

First meeting between these clubs.

v All Kazakh Opposition
P:6 W:3 D:1 L:2

~~~~ 2024/25 Form ~~~~​

Overall
W W W ~ L L W W W​