They managed to top the regular-season table in 2014/15 but lost out in the Championship Playoff to Gent-who qualified directly for the Champions League group stage.
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Elsewhere Manchester United face Club Brugge.
Manchester United were handed a favourable tie, as the draw for the the Champions League playoffs were made in Nyon on Friday morning.
Malmo, who have never previously faced Celtic, pulled off a notable 3-0 second leg victory over highly-fancied Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg to reach the play-off round.
The same note of caution goes for Bayer Leverkusen and Valencia in the same bracket, but perhaps the most interesting seeded club in that group is Sporting Clube de Portugal.
“We are used to being in the Champions League“.
The Champions draw also presents a potential cracker of a game as Celtic will take on Malmo to progress to the next round. They have, however, not won the league in 10 years – their last title triumph coming in 2005.
Though United will be heavily favoured to navigate their way through the two-legged tie and book a place in the group stage, assistant boss Ryan Giggs is taking nothing for granted.
“The spirit and motivation amongst this team is very high and we are all determined to make this a season to remember”.
Brugge beat Panathinaikos of Greece in the third qualifying round to set up the crucial tie with Louis van Gaal’s side.
“You look at Monaco, they did well last year, they are strong, but even the likes of Vienna and Brugge too – they all had good results in the qualifying stages”.
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Completing the list of those who could stand between Celtic and a return to the group stage of the tournament are Albanian champions Skenderbeu Korce.
