The Kazakh side have battled through three rounds of qualifying to set up a Champions League play-off with Celtic.

Kazakhstan hasn't been a happy hunting ground for Celtic in recent history. They were beaten 4-3 by Astana on their most recent visit back in 2017 after romping to a 5-0 home win in the play-off first leg and needed a last-gasp James Forrest winner at Parkhead to overturn a 2-0 deficit against Shakhter Karagandy four years earlier.

Celtic drew with Kairat in the first leg of the Champions League play-off round as they bid to reach the main phase of the competition. £40m worth of Champions League prize money is on the line for the Hoops and with a gruelling trip to Almaty awaiting, they know that only a win will do them any good.

Celtic went through their final preparations for their UEFA Champions League head-to-head with FC Kairat today ahead of Wednesday night’s game.The Hoops take on the Kazakhstan champions under the

Kairat Almaty star Ricardinho insists the Kazakhs are gunning for the biggest game of their lives next week. Celtic face a mammoth winner-takes-all Champions League playoff clash in central Asia after a goalless stalemate in their first leg at Parkhead.

The Celts are off to a good start this season, with two wins in the league and an emphatic 4-1 victory over Falkirk in the Premier Sports Cup already in the bag. And they’re hoping to continue that streak next week as they take on FC Kairat in the UEFA Champions League play-off match at Paradise!

But, Hugh Keevins, who thinks Hibernian and Hearts are better than Celtic, delivered another wild claim on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard. The Daily Record columnist has been on a strong run of wild claims about Celtic in the past few days but has now gone on to suggest that Celtic are lacking in the goal-scoring department.