Celtic have been drawn against Braga in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Neil Lennon will face his first European game as Celtic manager in the Portuguese city on July 27 or 28 with the return leg at Parkhead a week later.

Braga, like Celtic, qualified for the competition after finishing as runners-up in their domestic championship. However, unlike the Glasgow club, who won the tournament in 1967, Braga have never appeared in Europe’s premier competition.

The club finished five points behind Benfica in the Portuguese Liga last season but surprised many by finishing ahead of established names Porto and Sporting Lisbon.

Their rise to second spot in last season's Portuguese league was built on a squad which contains no less than 14 Brazilians. Only four home-based players are in their first team squad, including Helder Barbosa and former international goalkeeper Quim. Last season's number one, Eduardo, who played for Portugal in the World Cup left the club last week to join Genoa.
 
Braga's leading marksman in the 2009/10 season was Cameroon international Albert Meyong, who finished the season with 12 goals, 14 short of the league's top scorer Oscar Cardozo.

Braga have been regular competitors in the Europa League in recent seasons and have shown that they will pose a threat to Celtic’s hopes.

In 2007-08, they progressed to the last 32 of what was then the Uefa Cup, drawing with Bayern Munich in the group stages. The following year they went one better, reaching the last 16 having notably beaten Portsmouth 3-0 along the way.

Despite their fantastic domestic season last year though, they flopped in Europe, being caught cold in their first qualifier against Elfsborg and crashing out 4-1 on aggregate. Neil Lennon will be hoping they start poorly again this time around as he plots to make the playoff and a match against Sampdoria, Sevilla, Tottenham Hotspur, Auxerre or Werder Bremen.