Celtic vs Young Boys facts

A four-match unbeaten run has given Celtic hope of reaching the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds as they welcome eliminated Young Boys to Glasgow on Matchday 7.

The Scottish champions have nine points, six of them coming from home wins against Slovan Bratislava (5-1) and Leipzig (3-1), and drew 0-0 at GNK Dinamo Zagreb in their last fixture.

Young Boys, who appointed Giorgio Contini as their coach last month, are one of three side still without a point in the league phase, conceding 22 goals – more than any other team – and losing 1-5 at Stuttgart on Matchday 6.

Previous meetings

1993/94 UEFA Cup first round
Young Boys 0-0 Celtic
Celtic 1-0 Young Boys (aet)
After a goalless 180 minutes in Bern then Glasgow, a 104th-minute own goal from Young Boys' Alain Baumann at Celtic Park finally settled the tie.

Form guide

Celtic

Record vs Swiss clubs: W11 D3 L4 F38 A19
Home record vs Swiss clubs: W8 D1 L0

The Hoops have won three of their last four games against Swiss clubs, most recently beating Sion 3-0 both home and away in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League qualifying play-offs.

A 2-0 loss at Basel in the 2002/03 Champions League third qualifying round second leg – confirming an away goals defeat after a 3-3 aggregate draw – is one of only two in Celtic's last nine games against Swiss opponents.

At home Celtic have won eight of their nine games against Swiss clubs, the exception a 1-1 draw against Zürich in the 1998/99 UEFA Cup second round first leg – a tie they lost 5-3 on aggregate. They have scored three goals in each of their last two matches against Swiss visitors at Celtic Park, where they have kept six clean sheets in their nine games.

Celtic are in the Champions League proper for the 13th time, two more than local rivals Rangers, and the third season in a row.

The Hoops were bottom of their section for the second season running – and the fourth time in their last five campaigns – in 2023/24, although they ended with a 2-1 home win against Feyenoord, their first Champions League victory at Celtic Park since 2013.

That ended Celtic's run of 12 home group games without a win (D3 L9), since beating Ajax 2-1 on Matchday 4 in 2013/14. This season's wins against Slovan and Leipzig made it three in a row for the first time since 2007 before a 1-1 draw against Club Brugge in their most recent fixture.

Home and away, Celtic have won only five of their last 38 games in the Champions League proper (D9 L24) – but three of the last seven.

The first British club to win the European Cup in 1967, and runners-up to Feyenoord three years later, Celtic have reached the knockout stages three times. All those campaigns ended in the round of 16, most recently in 2012/13 against Juventus (0-3 h, 0-2 a).

Celtic claimed their 54th Scottish League title, and a 12th in 13 seasons, in 2023/24, Brendan Rodgers' side also winning the Scottish Cup, the Hoops' record 42nd victory.

Young Boys

Record vs Scottish clubs: W1 D3 L2 F5 A6
Away record vs Scottish clubs: W0 D1 L2

YB's last games against a Scottish club came in the 2019/20 Europa League group stage, when they took four points off Rangers (2-1 h, 1-1 a). Their first fixtures against a team from Scotland had also involved Celtic's Glasgow rivals, to whom they lost 2-3 on aggregate in the 1977/78 European Cup Winners' Cup preliminary round (0-1 h, 2-2 a).

YB have reached the Champions League proper four times – all in the last seven seasons.

In 2023/24, the Swiss side finished third in their section behind Manchester City and Leipzig but ahead of Crvena Zvezda against whom they took four points (2-2 a, 2-0 h); they lost their other four games.

Young Boys therefore moved across into the Europa League but their campaign lasted only one tie, a defeat against Sporting CP in the knockout round play-offs (1-3 h, 1-1 a).

The Bern club started this season in the Champions League play-offs, winning 3-2 at home and 1-0 away against Galatasaray.

The victory in Istanbul is Young Boys' only success in nine away European games (D3 L5); they have lost at Barcelona (0-5), Shakhtar Donetsk (1-2) and Stuttgart in this season's league phase.

YB have never won an away game in 11 attempts in the Champions League proper, drawing only two – at Manchester United in 2021/22 (1-1) and Crvena Zvezda last season (2-2).

Young Boys won their sixth Swiss Super League title in seven years in 2023/24, their 17th championship overall.

Links and trivia

Young Boys forward Cedric Itten scored five goals in 33 Scottish Premiership appearances for Rangers between August 2020 and May 2022. He featured twice against Celtic, coming on as a late substitute in Rangers wins in October 2020 and January 2021.

Latest news

Celtic

On Saturday Celtic were 2-1 winners at home to Kilmarnock in the Scottish Cup fourth round, Daizen Maeda marking his return from injury with the winner.

The Scottish champions have won 19 of their 23 league games this season, the sole defeat a 3-0 loss at Glasgow rivals Rangers on 2 January – ending the Hoops' 27-match unbeaten league run (W24 D3).

Matchday 6 was the first in a run of three successive draws for Celtic, who have since won six of their eight fixtures (D1 L1).

After losing at Rangers, Celtic won at home to St Mirren (3-0) and Dundee United (2-0) and at Ross County (4-1) before a 3-3 draw at Dundee on 15 January.

Celtic have kept nine clean sheets in their last 14 matches in all competitions; they conceded 11 goals in the other five.

On 15 December Celtic claimed the first silverware of the Scottish season, beating Rangers 5-4 on penalties after a 3-3 draw in the League Cup final to lift the trophy for the 22nd time and the eighth in the last 11 campaigns.

Maeda had missed two games with a strain before playing 90 minutes on Saturday.

James Forrest has been out since the League Cup final with a foot injury.

Young Boys

Held 0-0 at home by Winterthur on Saturday, the Swiss champions have won just six of their 19 Swiss Super League games this season (D6 L7), although they were victorious in their last fixture of 2024, 2-1 at home to Servette on 15 December.

A 3-1 loss at Sion on 7 December is, however, Young Boys' only loss in their last eight league games (W4 D3).

That was YB's seventh league reverse of the season – the same as in the whole of 2023/24.

Having parted company with Patrick Rahmen in October, YB named Joël Magnin as interim coach before appointing Giorgio Contini on 18 December; he has signed a two-and-a-half year deal.

Young Boys were 4-1 friendly winners against Romanian side Sepsi on 7 January and, after friendly defeats by Hannover (1-2) and Ludogorets (0-1), beat Swiss third division leaders Biel-Bienne 6-0 on 15 January.

Abdu Conté, whose last appearance came on 7 December, has been sidelined.

Saidy Janko has not played this season due to a muscle injury.

On Saturday Young Boys announced the signing of midfielder Rayan Raveloson, who joins from Auxerre on a contract until 2028.