2024–25 NK Celje season

The 2024–25 season is the 106th year in the history of NK Celje and the 11th consecutive season in the top division. In addition to competing in the domestic league, Celje is also taking part in the Slovenian Football Cup and the UEFA Conference League. They were eliminated from both the Champions League and UEFA Europa League during the qualifying rounds.

Celje

2024–25 season
Manager	Albert Riera
Stadium	Stadion Z'dežele
Slovenian PrvaLiga	5th
Slovenian Football Cup	Round of 32
UEFA Champions League	Second qualifying round
UEFA Europa League	Third qualifying round
UEFA Conference League	Quarter-finals
Top goalscorer	League: Armandas Kučys (9) All: Armandas Kučys (17)
← 2023–24 2025–26 →

Transfers

Out

Pos.	Player	Transferred to	Fee	Date	Source
DF	David Zec	Holstein Kiel	Undisclosed	1 January 2025

Friendlies

Pre-season

Celje v Borac Banja Luka

19 June 2024 Friendly	Celje	2–2	Borac Banja Luka	Zreče
18:00 UTC+2				Stadium: Zreški Stadion

Celje v Corvinul Hunedoara

25 June 2024 Friendly	Celje	2–0	Corvinul Hunedoara
17:30 UTC+2

Celje v Oțelul Galați

28 June 2024 Friendly	Celje	2–3	Oțelul Galați	Kranjska Gora
11:00 UTC+2				Stadium: Športni Park Ruteč

Celje v Rapid București

28 June 2024 Friendly	Celje	1–0	Rapid București	Kranj
17:30 UTC+2				Stadium: Športnega Centra Kranj Pomožnem Terenu

Mid-season

Osijek v Celje

18 January 2025 Friendly	Osijek	2–2	Celje
11:30

Celje v Široki Brijeg

25 January 2025 Friendly	Celje	2–0	Široki Brijeg
11:30

Competitions

Overall record

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
					Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Slovenian PrvaLiga	21 July 2024		Matchday 1		10	5	2	3	18	14	+4	050.00
Slovenian Football Cup	25 September 2024		Round of 32		1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	100.00
UEFA Champions League	10 July 2024	30 July 2024	First qualifying round	Second qualifying round	4	2	1	1	8	7	+1	050.00
UEFA Europa League	8 August 2024	15 August 2024	Third qualifying round	Third qualifying round	2	1	0	1	2	3	−1	050.00
UEFA Conference League	22 August 2024		Play-off round		2	1	0	1	4	2	+2	050.00
Total					19	10	3	6	35	26	+9	052.63

Last updated: 28 September 2024
Source: Competitions

Slovenian PrvaLiga

Main article: 2024–25 Slovenian PrvaLiga

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
2	Maribor (Y)	33	18	9	6	60	29	+31	63	Qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round[a]
3	Koper	34	18	8	8	56	33	+23	62	Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round
4	Celje	34	16	9	9	69	49	+20	57
5	Bravo	34	14	11	9	50	42	+8	53
6	Primorje	33	9	10	14	37	58	−21	37

Updated to match(es) played on 10 May 2025. Source: PrvaLiga
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored
(Y) Assured of at least Conference League first qualifying round
Notes:

1. The winner of the Slovenian Cup (Celje or Koper) qualifies for the Europa League first qualifying round.

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
20	9	4	7	35	31	+4	31	6	1	4	21	19	+2	3	3	3	14	12	+2

Last updated: 8 February 2025.
Source: soccerway

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23
Ground	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	H	A	H	A
Result	W	W	L	W	D	L	D	W	W	L	W	W	L	L	W	W	D	D	L	L
Position	3	2	4	2	3	5	6	5	3	5	4	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	5

Updated to match(es) played on 8 February 2025. Source: ^{[citation needed]}
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

The match schedule was released on 27 June 2024.^[1]

Celje v Bravo

21 July 2024 1	Celje	2–1	Bravo	Celje
20:15 UTC+2				Stadium: Stadion Z'dežele

Mura v Celje

3 August 2024 3	Mura	1–0	Celje	Murska Sobota
20:15 UTC+2				Stadium: Fazanerija City Stadium

Celje v Radomlje

11 August 2024 4	Celje	4–2	Radomlje	Celje
17:30 UTC+2				Stadium: Stadion Z'dežele

Olimpija Ljubljana v Celje

18 August 2024 5	Olimpija Ljubljana	2–2	Celje	Ljubljana
20:15 UTC+2				Stadium: Stožice Stadium

Celje v Primorje

25 August 2024 6	Celje	0–3	Primorje	Celje
20:15 UTC+2				Stadium: Stadion Z'dežele

Koper v Celje

1 September 2024 7	Koper	0–0	Celje	Koper
20:15 UTC+2				Stadium: Bonifika Stadium

Celje v Nafta 1903

15 September 2024 8	Celje	3–1	Nafta 1903	Celje
17:30 UTC+2				Stadium: Stadion Z'dežele

Celje v Maribor

18 September 2024 2	Celje	2–1	Maribor	Celje
				Stadium: Stadion Z'dežele

Domžale v Celje

22 September 2024 9	Domžale	0–3	Celje	Domžale
20:15 UTC+2				Stadium: Domžale Sports Park

Bravo v Celje

28 September 2024 10	Bravo	3–2	Celje	Ljubljana
17:30 UTC+2				Stadium: Stožice Stadium

Maribor v Celje

6 October 2024 11	Maribor	1–2	Celje	Maribor
17:30 CET	Krajnc 3' Širvys  17' Repas  25'  59' Repas  54' Sikošek  89'	Report	Zec  50' Kučys 61' Edmilson 90+2'  90+2'	Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Rade Obrenović

Celje v Mura

19 October 2024 12	Celje	4–3	Mura	Celje
15:00 CET	Zec  43'  78' Kvesić 63'  70' Kučys 69' Vuklišević 75' Matko 80'	Report	Vizinger 8' 48' Maroša 86' (pen.)	Stadium: Stadion Z'dežele Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Slavko Vinčić

Radomlje v Celje

27 October 2024 13	Radomlje	4–2	Celje	Domžale
17:30 CET	Stjepan Davidović 53' Niko Gajzler 73' Vucenovic 81' Dobrovoljc  90+2' Zukić 90+6'	Report	Kvesić 8' Sešlar 65' Matija Kavčič  75' Matko  90+2'	Stadium: Domžale Sports Park Attendance: 350 Referee: Anže Jerič

Celje v Olimpija Ljubljana

3 November 2024 14	Celje	0–1	Olimpija Ljubljana	Celje
15:00 CET	Svetlin  77'	Report	David Sualehe  25' Florucz 50'  75' Doffo  77' Thalisson  80' Manuel Pedreño  90+2'	Stadium: Stadion Z'dežele Attendance: 3,625 Referee: Bojan Mertik

Primorje v Celje

10 November 2024 15	Primorje	1–3	Celje	Nova Gorica
20:15 CET	Smajlagić 11' (pen.) Duan Ignjatović  90+2'	Report	Nemanič 55' Kvesić 66' Edmilson 74' (pen.) Zec  83'	Stadium: Nova Gorica Sports Park Attendance: 200 Referee: Martin Matoša

Celje v Koper

23 November 2024 16	Celje	1–0	Koper	Celje
15:00 CET	Brnić 15' Nemanič  50'	Report	Di Mateo Lovrić  38' Jurić  38' Felipe Curcio  38' Ahmed Sidibé  74'  86' Juric  81' Pabai  90+3'	Stadium: Stadion Z'dežele Attendance: 1,374 Referee: Matej Jug

Nafta v Celje

1 December 2024 17	Nafta	0–0	Celje	Lendava
15:00 CET	Darko Hrka  76'	Report	Sešlar  46'	Stadium: Lendava Sports Park Attendance: 1,500 Referee: David Šmajc

Celje v Domžale

7 December 2024 18	Celje	2–2	Domžale	Celje
15:00 CET	Íñigo Eguaras  45+1' Sešlar  62' Brnić 78' Kvesić 80'	Report	Šturm 8' 53' Abraham Nwankwo  56' Luka Kambič  90+1'	Stadium: Stadion Z'dežele Attendance: 750 Referee: Žan Jazbec

Slovenian Football Cup

Dravinja v Celje

25 September 2024 Round of 64	Dravinja	0–3	Celje	Slovenske Konjice
15:30 UTC+2			Matko 13', 51' Pišek 82'	Stadium: Štadion Dobrava Referee: Gašper Lončar

Hodoš v Celje

30 October 2024 Round of 32	Hodoš	0–8	Celje	Hodoš
14:00 CET		Report	Edmilson 8' 75' 76' Dulca 12' Pišek 15' 69' Bralić 44' Nemanič 49'	Stadium: Nogometno igrišče Hodoš Attendance: 350 Referee: Blaž Bezjak

Celje v Tabor Sežana

26 February 2025 Round of 16	Celje	–	Tabor Sežana	Celje
16:00 CET				Stadium: Stadion Z'dežele

UEFA Champions League

Main article: 2024–25 UEFA Champions League

UEFA Europa League

Main article: 2024–25 UEFA Europa League

UEFA Conference League

Main article: 2024–25 UEFA Conference League

League phase

Main article: 2024–25 UEFA Conference League league phase

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
19	Víkingur Reykjavík	6	2	2	2	7	8	−1	8	Advance to knockout phase play-offs (unseeded)
20	Borac Banja Luka	6	2	2	2	4	7	−3	8
21	Celje	6	2	1	3	13	13	0	7
22	Omonia	6	2	1	3	7	7	0	7
23	Molde	6	2	1	3	10	11	−1	7

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: League phase tiebreakers

Round	1	2	3	4
Ground	A	H	A	H
Result	L	W	L	D

First match(es) will be played on ?. Source: UEFA
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Vitória de Guimarães v Celje

2 October 2024 1	Vitória de Guimarães	3–1	Celje	Guimarães, Portugal
15:30 UTC+1	Samu 7' Gustavo Silva 36' Tiago Silva 62'	Report	Matko 45' Kučys  69' Edmilson  87'	Stadium: Estádio D. Afonso Henriques Attendance: 10,263 Referee: Lothar D'hondt

Celje v Başakşehir

24 October 2024 2	Celje	5–1	Başakşehir	Celje
18:45 UTC+2	Svetlin 5' Brnić 30' Sešlar 34' Kučys  37' 51' 77' Zec  81'	Report	Ba  24' Özdemir  35' Türüç  70' Opoku  74' Pelkas 75' Davidson  81'	Stadium: Stadion Z'dežele Attendance: 2,175 Referee: Oleksiy Derevinskyi

Real Betis v Celje

7 November 2024 3	Real Betis	2–1	Celje	Seville, Spain
21:00 UTC+1	Natan 75' Juanmi 90+4'	Report	Karničnik  35' Kučys  49' Juanjo Nieto  54' 81' Lovro Štubljar  90+1'	Stadium: Estadio Benito Villamarín Attendance: 37,618 Referee: Novak Simović

Celje v Jagiellonia Białystok

28 November 2024 4	Celje	3–3	Jagiellonia Białystok	Celje
18:45 UTC+2	Zec 7' Juanjo Nieto  33' 53' Nemanič  33' Adrián Diéguez 80' (o.g.)	Report	Afimico Pululu 34' Churlinov  39' Jesús Imaz 70' Hansen 77' Nguiamba  86'	Stadium: Stadion Z'dežele Attendance: 3,520 Referee: Allard Lindhout

Pafos v Celje

12 December 2024 5	Pafos	2–0	Celje	Limassol, Cyprus
22:00 UTC+2	Luckassen  23' Pileas  36' Dragomir 48' Correia  28', 63' Name  90+1'	Report	Svetlin  17' Zabukovnik 24	Stadium: Alphamega Stadium Attendance: 2,051[2] Referee: Paweł Raczkowski

Celje v The New Saints

19 December 2024 6	Celje	3–2	The New Saints	Celje
21:00 UTC+1	Edmilson 20' (43) Nemanič  39' Kouter  76' Zec 79'	Report	Davies 19' Daniels  29' Holden 42' Roberts  71'	Stadium: Stadion Z'dežele Attendance: 2,640[3] Referee: Lukas Fähndrich

Knockout phase

Main article: 2024–25 UEFA Conference League knockout phase

Knockout phase play-offs

The draw for the knockout phase play-offs was held on 20 December 2024.^[4][5]

Celje v APOEL

13 February 2025 (2025-02-13) First leg	Celje	2–2	APOEL	Stadion Z'dežele, Celje
18:45	Kučys 2', 59'	Report	Abagna 32' Laifis 70'	Attendance: 4,050[6] Referee: Mykola Balakin

APOEL v Celje

20 February 2025 (2025-02-20) Second leg	APOEL	0–2	Celje	GSP Stadium, Nicosia
21:00 (22:00 UTC+2)		Report	Kučys 45+4' Svetlin 51'	Attendance: 9,108[7] Referee: John Beaton

Round of 16

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 21 February 2025, 14:00 CET.^[8]

Celje v Lugano

6 March 2025 (2025-03-06) First leg	Celje	1–0	Lugano	Stadion Z'dežele, Celje
21:00	Svetlin 23'	Report		Attendance: 5,712[9] Referee: António Nobre

Lugano v Celje

13 March 2025 (2025-03-13) Second leg	Lugano	5–4 (a.e.t.) (1–3 p)	Celje	Stockhorn Arena, Thun[note 1]
18:45	Mahmoud 21' Koutsias 42', 80' Dos Santos 44' Doumbia 118'	Report	Sešlar 40' Svetlin 68' Kučys 90+5' (pen.) Nieto 97'	Attendance: 1,853[11] Referee: Andris Treimanis
	Penalties
	Przybyłko Steffen Mai Cimignani		Edmilson Sešlar Karničnik

Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 21 February 2025, 14:00 CET.^[8]

Celje v Fiorentina

10 April 2025 First leg	Celje	1–2	Fiorentina	Celje, Slovenia
21:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Vuklišević  55' Delaurier-Chaubet 68' (pen.)	Report	Ranieri 27',  49' Moreno  35' Zaniolo  53' Mandragora 62' (pen.) Dodô  87' Parisi  90+6'	Stadium: Stadion Z'dežele Attendance: 12,512 Referee: Felix Zwayer (Germany)

Fiorentina v Celje

17 April 2025 Second leg	Fiorentina	2–2 (4–3 agg.)	Celje	Florence, Italy
18:45 CEST (UTC+2)	Mandragora 37',  61' Folorunsho  55' Kean 67'	Report	Matko 54' Nemanič 65' Vuklišević  90+5'	Stadium: Stadio Artemio Franchi Attendance: 13,195 Referee: João Pinheiro (Portugal)

Notes

1. Lugano played their home matches at Stockhorn Arena, Thun, instead of their regular stadium, Cornaredo Stadium, Lugano, due to renovation work.^[10]