After expertly dismantling St Johnstone on Saturday night, Celtic now turn their attentions to the toughest test of the season so far against Borussia Dortmund.
The Bhoys visit last season’s Champions League finalists on Tuesday. Brendan Rodgers’ side are full of confidence and swagger after a nine-game winning run to kick off their campaign.
However, the Germans present a big jump up in competition, and Celtic will have to be at their very best to hope for a positive result.
The only concern heading into the match is the status of defender Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Carter-Vickers has missed the last two matches with a foot complaint, while fellow defender Greg Taylor was substituted off at half-time in the 6-0 thrashing of St Johnstone.
Brendan Rodgers on Carter-Vickers and Taylor Celtic status
Asked if Carter-Vickers will be flying to Germany, Rodgers said in a post-match press conference: “I don’t know. I’ll know tomorrow. See where he’s at. And then we’ll go on Monday. And if he’s not available, then okay.
“Auston Trusty came in. I thought he was excellent tonight. You’ve seen his pace, you’ve seen his power. He’s playing off that right side, but he’s got a good balance in his game.
“And I thought he did very, very well. So if Cameron’s not available, then we have someone who can come straight in.”
On Taylor, the manager added: “Greg just felt a tightness in his calf in the first 15 minutes. So it just precautionary, we take him off and put Alex Valle in. We hope that he should be fine.”
Celtic defence set for elite test
Dortmund may have been shipping goals themselves recently, conceding seven in the last week alone, but they know how to score at the other end. The 3-0 win over Club Brugge on matchday one was enough evidence of that.
The Celtic defence need to be on top form to keep the Bhoys competitive on Tuesday night.
Those efforts start from the attack and midfield with aggressive pressing, but we’ll need a mistake-free night from Liam Scales and company to have a chance of a positive result.
Trusty is largely untested and missing Carter-Vickers would be a blow, but the rest of the backline is at least settled in front of Kasper Schmeichel.
We’ll find out a lot about their capability to compete in the Champions League by the full-time whistle.
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