Europa League: Celtic & Rangers chances of reaching last 16 considered slim

Celtic are the only Scottish side to have confirmed their involvement in Europe into 2022, but Rangers have a better chance of progress in the Europa League, according to statisticians.

The Ibrox side, who will be led by Giovanni van Bronckhorst for the first time on Thursday against Sparta Prague, have a 48% chance of finishing second in their Europa League group, with top spot already out of reach.

Celtic, though, are deemed to only have a 15% likeliness of claiming a top-two place in their section.

The Euro Club Index, produced by Gracenote and Hypercube, gives Rangers a 14% chance of reaching the last 16, with only the group winners qualifying automatically for that round.

Instead, they expect the Ibrox side to fight it out with Sparta to see who will face a Champions League drop-out in the play-off round. They say the Scottish outfit have a 43% chance of finishing third and a 8% chance of being bottom, behind Brondby.

Should that happen, Van Bronckhorst's team would drop into the Europa Conference League play-offs, with a place in the last 16 of that competition at stake.

That is where Celtic are forecast to end up, with the data suggesting there is an 85% chance of that.

Bayer Leverkusen, who host Ange Postecoglou's men on Thursday, and Real Betis are considered to be effectively uncatchable in the top two spots, with the Scottish side given a 2% chance of winning the section and a 13% hope of being second.

That being so, there is only a 6% chance of Celtic reaching the Europa League last 16, but a 42% shot of them reaching the same stage of the Conference League.