Celtic and Rangers supporters should brace themselves for a whole new Champions League draw format next season.

The continents flagship competition is expanding, with a 36-team league phase replacing the 32-team Champions League group phase that has been in place since the 1999-2000 season.

Historically the draw has always been conducted manually but now under the fresh set-up, UEFA chiefs believe it would take a "three to four hours" and are looking for alternative ways - while insisting it will keep it's integrity.

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Rangers are currently in the driving seat to qualify automatically for the league phase, as they lead Celtic by two points with only nine games remaining. The Scottish Premiership runners-up would go into the third-round of Champions League qualifying. 

UEFA have said the precise format for the draw is still in the final development phase but that it would be a “hybrid” event involving some manual drawing of balls and some automation. The governing body also claim any automated elements would continue to be independently audited to avoid any accusations of the draw being rigged.

Teams from the same country will be kept apart until the new knockout round play-off, other than in very exceptional circumstances, with the new round to be contested by the teams finishing ninth to 24th in the league phase.

UEFA is then introducing a tennis-style seeding system from the last 16 onwards, so that the clubs finishing first and second in the league phase are kept in separate halves of the draw and cannot meet until the final.