Celtic are back on the Champions League qualification tightrope for the first time in four years and they'll be out to avoid a costly fall against Kairat of Kazakhstan.
The Hoops have enjoyed automatic entry to the group phase in the last three seasons and will be out to build on last year's promising campaign, which saw them reach the knockout stages for the first time since 2013.
But the board have upset fans by failing to bring in big-money summer signings and Celtic's squad looks weaker than the one which impressed in Europe last term, with the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi and Nicolas Kuhn sold for vast profits.
Brendan Rodgers is cutting an increasingly frustrated figure, which is bad news as he enters the final year of his contract, and crashing out to Kairat would cast a dark cloud over Parkhead.
A big win in the first leg could be key to Celtic's hopes of landing a £40million golden ticket as the return leg, which involves a 7000-mile round trip, is one of the most arduous in football.
Kairat knocked out Slovan Bratislava in the last round, with two bets landing for Slips Tips in the second leg, and if they can keep the score down at Celtic Park they will fancy their chances of turning things around in Almaty.
How the bookies view it: Hoops heavy favourites
Kairat will have to cope with a bit of jetlag, with the kick-off time long after their bedtimes, and BoyleSports make them 16/1 outsiders at Celtic Park. The SPFL Premiership champions are 1/8 favourites and even the draw is huge at 7/1.
Head to head: Celtic curse for Kazakhs
These sides have never faced off before but Celtic have a good record against Kazakh sides in Champions League qualifying. They saw off Shakhter Karagandy in Neil Lennon's time as boss then Rodgers twice knocked out Astana during his first spell in the Parkhead hotseat.
Players to watch: Maeda off the mark
Daizen Maeda was Celtic's star man last term but looked a bit out of sorts as he drew a blank in the first two games of the new campaign. The Japanese winger was much brighter as he scored in the League Cup win over Falkirk and he's 21/20 for another strike here.
Kazakh sides usually rely on a sprinkling of South Americans for inspiration and Kairat are no different. Midfielder Jorginho has scored twice in Champions League qualification already this term and is 5/1 for a Parkhead strike.
Probable line-ups
Rodgers has a full squad to choose from and his big decision is whether to pick Arne Engels or new signing Benjamin Nygren as his attacking midfielder. Kairat are without midfielder Valeri Gromyko through suspension.
Celtic: Schmeichel, Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Tierney, McGregor, Hatate, Nygren, Forrest, Maeda, Idah.
Kairat: Zarutskiy, Mata, Martynovich, Tapalov, Sorokin, Jorginho, Satpaev, Arad, Glazer, Sadybekov, Edmilson.
Anything else catch the eye?
Thrills were thin on the ground in the last round with Kairat, with both legs ending in 1-0 scorelines. The Kazakhs are likely to park the bus at Parkhead so Celtic may need to show some patience if they fail to get an early breakthough.
Rodgers' side hit four against Falkirk but their frontline isn't firing properly yet so a Celtic win with under 3.5 goals could pay off at 23/2o with BoyleSports.
The corner count should rack up with Kairat setting up to frustrate and over 7.5 Celtic corners looks good value at 21/20.
GambleAware