After overcoming Rosenborg on Wednesday night, Celtic are again looking forward to European football well into the Autumn and Winter this season, guaranteed group stage action in either the UEFA Europa League or Champions League.

Of course, what everyone at the Hoops craves is to reach the group stages of the big competition and standing in their way is Kazakhstan Premier League champions FC Astana.

They are a familiar foe to Brendan Rodgers' team, having faced them in the 3rd Qualifying Round of this tournament last summer, overcoming the Kazakhs 3-2 on aggregate in an exciting and nervy tie.

One year on though, key aspects of the encounter have changed with Celtic now having to play the first leg at home and then head to Astana to face their fate in the second leg.

While Celtic fans will know a bit about the team due to last year's matches, there is still some key info they might not be aware of.

Here are FOUR must-know facts that every Celtic supporter should know ahead of the first leg on 16th August...

Last season's goalscorer at Celtic Park won't feature

When Agim Ibraimi rifled in a long-range effort at Celtic Park last summer, it blasted the entire tie wide open. The Hoops had in fact been pretty comfortable for the majority of that match before it went in but Ibraimi silenced the huge crowd in Glasgow and Celtic had to dig deep to find the result required.

Ultimately it was Moussa Dembele who fired the side through, scoring a last minute penalty to prevent extra-time being necessary.

Celtic fans might be pleased that Ibraimi is no longer with the side, having left in April 2017. His own goal for the club came against the Hoops and injury ended his hopes of making an impact at the club shortly after.

The Macedonia international was a real threat in the second half of that match and this year Astana won't have his attacking talent at their disposal.

They have a fantastic UEFA home record

One thing Astana have going for them is their supreme home record in UEFA competition. In fact, they are unbeaten in a massive 14 matches in Europe. That's an impressive record by any measure but that record doesn't just span qualifying matches, it also includes a tilt at the group stages of both the Champions and Europa League.

Teams like Atletico Madrid, Galatasaray, Olympiakos, Benfica and Celtic themselves have all failed to make the long trip to Kazakhstan and come away with a victory in recent seasons.

They're a pragmatic side who are tough to break down and, as shown in the match against the Hoops last year, have the ability to put visitors under serious pressure across a 90 minutes.

Celtic did very well to come away with a draw in that one, Patrick Roberts smartly assisting Leigh Griffiths in the second half with one of their only shots on target in the whole match.

It'll be another tough shift for the Hoops but thankfully there is another big fact Celtic can take comfort in from their recent UEFA record...

They have a terrible UEFA away record

Their away record in Europe is almost as bad as their home record is good. They've won just one match out of 14  on their travels in UEFA competition, with that win coming against Latvian minnows Spartaks Jurmala earlier this summer.

What people forget when they consider a tough trip to Kazakhstan is that Astana have to make a similarly tough trip away from their home in each tie they face. The time zone difference being what it is, it's even more perilous for them than it is for Western Europe teams going in the other direction.

When they kick-off in the first leg at Celtic Park a week on Tuesday, it will be 01:45am in Kazakh time, meaning that the depths of that match will be played after 03:00am. That takes a toll on their body clocks and sure enough they looked absolute knackered towards the end of their match vs the Hoops last summer, clumsily conceding a penalty in the dying embers of the game.

It's a tough ask for them and it should be to Celtic's benefit, who over the last 12 months have notoriously ended games well with fitness and determination coming to the fore in close fought matches.

The danger man is Junior Kabananga

Astana's undoubted danger man in the two legs vs Celtic will be Congo international Junior Kabananga. Although he didn't score against the Hoops last summer, he was a constant threat in the away leg and actually should have scored a second for his side when Efe Ambrose made a blunder from a cross.

This season he has his shooting boots on and goes into this round in scoring form. Astana are 21 games deep into their league season and Kabananga has scored 16 goals in all competitions, including one in the last round against Legia Warsaw.

He's the man that Jozo Simunovic and his defensive partner on the night will have to stop. If they can nullify his threat then they should also have enough to keep a clean sheet and prevent conceding any silly away goals.

If they go East with a healthy league from the first leg, Brendan Rodgers' side should have enough about them to get through to the group stages for the second year in succession.