Kasper Schmeichel will have one thing in his mind this evening as Celtic face Bayern Munich.
The goalkeeper will be determined to keep a clean sheet in the Champions League for the third time this season but it will be a daunting task.
Bayern’s superstars include the likes of Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala and Thomas Muller but their main target man through the middle is Harry Kane.
The prolific striker has a whopping 28 goals in as many matches this season for the Bundesliga giants with 10 assists also to his name and he will be hoping to add to his tally in front of a “special” Parkhead atmosphere and a packed out crowd.
Kane knows what to expect from Celtic but he has potentially a subconscious, psychological advantage over the goalie between the sticks that he’ll face tonight in Glasgow.
Kane has scored more goals vs Schmeichel than any other goalie
The statistics show that Schmeichel, unfortunately for the Dane, is the stopper Kane has scored the most goals against throughout his incredible career.
A whopping 18 goals have been put past Schmeichel by his old foe with the closest in second, Everton’s Jordan Pickford, shipping just the 14 strikes to the 31-year-old.
Behind that record comes Nick Pope of Newcastle United and then Ben Foster who has played for multiple clubs.
Kane lashed in a hattrick for Tottenham Hotspur against Schmeichel’s Leicester City back in 2015 before he hit a stunning four goals two years later at the King Power Stadium in a 6-1 rout.
| Harry Kane goal scoring record vs goalkeepers (Opta via the Times) |
| vs Kasper Schmeichel – 18 goals |
| vs Jordan Pickford – 14 goals |
| vs Nick Pope – 9 goals |
| vs Ben Foster – 7 goals |
| vs Dubravka, Nubel, Leno, Boruc, Guaita – 6 goals |
Celtic hope to shut down Kane in Champions League
It does not bode well for Schmeichel or for Celts that Kane has found the net in his last five outings against Schmeichel with the big custodian praying to break the curse tonight in Europe’s elite competition.
Kane is yet to play at Celtic Park in his career but he has done well in Scotland against the national side with England.
He famously netted late in a 2-2 draw at Hampden after Leigh Griffiths’ two free-kicks had stunned the Three Lions.
Auston Trusty hopes to shut down Kane alongside partner Cameron Carter-Vickers.
The American has vowed to prove a point against the hitman.
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