Scottish football's two European representatives have discovered their autumn opponents, with Celtic entering the Europa League league phase and Hearts embarking on a Conference League campaign that includes a high-profile meeting with Mohamed Salah's Trabzonspor.
Celtic dropped into the Europa League after a dramatic collapse against LASK in Champions League qualifying, having squandered a four-goal lead earlier this week. The Scottish champions, managed by Martin O'Neill, will now face Marseille at home and Benfica away among their eight fixtures. They will also take on Ferencvaros, Union SG, Celta Vigo, Omonia, Besiktas and Torreense as they bid to reach the knockout stages.
The pairing with Benfica represents a repeat of history for Celtic, who last met the Portuguese giants in the 2012 Champions League group stage, drawing at home and losing away. Benfica have also faced Hearts twice already this season, winning both encounters. Celtic's clash with Ferencvaros will similarly evoke memories of their 2021 Europa League meetings, which Celtic won both home and away.
Several of Celtic's opponents will be new territory. The club have never previously faced Marseille, Besiktas, Omonia, Torreense or Union SG, the Belgian club part-owned by Brighton chairman and Hearts investor Tony Bloom. There is a link to Celtic's past with Celta Vigo, however, as O'Neill's side beat the Spanish outfit on away goals during their run to the 2003 UEFA Cup final in his first spell in charge.
Celtic's Europa League fixtures will be played on 16 and 17 September, 15 and 22 October, 5 and 26 November, 10 December 2026, and 21 and 28 January 2027, kicking off with the visit of Marseille next month.
For Hearts, the headline fixture is a trip to Turkey to face Trabzonspor, who signed Liverpool legend Salah in the summer following his departure after 257 goals in 442 appearances for the Merseyside club. Now 34, the Egyptian has scored twice in three appearances for his new club and will provide the marquee attraction when Hearts travel there.
Wouter Vrancken's side reached the Conference League after Champions League and Europa League qualifying exits, but they battled past Rapid Vienna on penalties in the play-off round to secure their place. Their group includes home fixtures against Monaco, Bosnian champions Borac and Danish outfit Nordsjaelland, along with away trips to Pafos in Cyprus and Thun in Switzerland, in addition to the away fixture against Trabzonspor.
Hearts' six Conference League matches will be played on 15 and 22 October, 5 and 26 November, and 10 and 17 December, with their campaign beginning next month.
Both competitions follow a similar structural format this season. In the 36-team Europa League, each club plays eight matches - four home, four away - with the top eight automatically advancing to the round of 16. Clubs finishing between ninth and 24th enter a two-legged play-off, while those below 25th are eliminated without the possibility of dropping into another European competition.
The Conference League operates with a shorter league phase of six matches per team, three at home and three away, but shares the same qualification structure beyond that point, with the top eight progressing directly and ninth to 24th place finishers contesting play-offs.
Knockout football in both competitions begins in February, with the Europa League final scheduled for 26 May and the Conference League showpiece following on 2 June.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.