AZ Alkmaar vice-captain Bruno Martins Indi has shown his knowledge of the current Celtic squad as he highlighted several key players ahead of Wednesday night.
Alkmaar will take the trip to Glasgow to face the Hoops in Europa League qualifying action. The playoff tie is a straight shootout to see who can make the group stages of Europe’s secondary club competition.
Celtic are currently going through a period of transition under new manager Ange Postecoglou. The Greek-Australian tactician is managing to get a tune out of last season’s under-performers as well as his new signings.
And that’s not gone unnoticed by Martins Indi, who was keen to identify some of Celtic’s stronger assets. Indeed, speaking via the Sunday Mail [15/08, page 70], Martins Indi said the following when asked about the Bhoys:
“This match between AZ and Celtic is basically a Champions League tie when you look at the history of the clubs. I’d have preferred another rival in the draw but we have to accept it. Only the best teams get to the group phase of the Europa League.
“To play in Glasgow will be great but our chance to go through will come at home. I’ve watched Celtic recently and they have an excellent team with Callum McGregor, Joe Hart, Odsonne Edouard. And I’ve also heard good reports about the new signing Kyogo.
“I know Scottish football from my time at Stoke. The key for us is not to suffer defeat in Glasgow. I’m convinced that if we can do that then we can win at home.”
Celtic vs Alkmaar – a colossal fixture for so many reasons
Celtic are about to see just how far they’ve come on Wednesday night when Alkmaar pop up at Parkhead. Many believe that Postecoglou has managed to bring this Hoops team forward and unite a what seemed to previously be a divided dressing-room. Alkmaar will be our biggest test of that progress.
Celtic may have faced Midtjylland in the Champions League qualifiers. But truthfully? Alkmaar have a greater class of player in their squad to be wary of. Yes, they may have lost their opening Eredivisie match, but all the more reason for them to be itching to bounce back.
It’s also going to be a huge fixture that will test what looks to be a ropey defence. The partnership of Carl Starfelt and Stephen Welsh appears to be the first-choice pairing for now. However, the former has made some poor errors in recent weeks including two against Hearts on Sunday. Starfelt needs to show that he can operate at this level.
And then there’s just the general importance of this fixture to the tie in general. If Celtic are to go through, you have to imagine we quite simply need the win at Parkhead. Securing a victory at the AFAS Stadium is a requirement we could do without.
Martins Indi appears to know a fair bit about Celtic too. The experienced Dutch international will undoubtedly be informing his teammates about Celtic’s main areas of strength and weakness.
On Wednesday night, we’ll see just how ready this Celtic side is when it comes to dealing with them.
In other news, Report: Shamrock Rovers’ Liam Scales to sign for Celtic
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