Celtic have played their final clash before the huge Kairat Almaty game on Wednesday night.
The Hoops thumped Falkirk 4-1 in the Premier Sports Cup second round to advance to the quarter-finals, with the draw to be made on Saturday night.
Daizen Maeda, Dane Murray and Alistair Johnston all scored their first goals of the new season at Celtic Park, while Arne Engels was impressive on the night.
Celtic’s spirits will be high, at least in the dressing room, before hosting Kairat during the week. But how did the Kazakhstani side fare in their domestic clash?
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Kairat Almaty suffer shock defeat before Celtic encounter
Kairat Almaty went into their Kazakhstan Premier League match against Yelimay Semey on Saturday top of the table.
They still remain there by three points, but they lost 3-2 to Yelimay despite flying into a 2-0 lead after just 37 minutes of play.
Yelimay scored three second-half goals to produce a marvellous comeback and thus denting the confidence of Kairat days before their huge journey to Glasgow.
It’s the first time they’ve lost a game domestically since May and only their third defeat of the ongoing Kazakhstan Premier League campaign.
Celtic squad for Kairat Almaty play-off
Goalkeepers
- Kasper Schmeichel
- Viljami Sinisalo
- Ross Doohan
Defenders
- Alistair Johnston
- Jahmai Simpson-Pusey
- Liam Scales
- Auston Trusty
- Cameron Carter-Vickers
- Dane Murray
- Anthony Ralston
- Stephen Welsh
- Kieran Tierney
Midfielders
- Reo Hatate
- Yang Hyun-jun
- Luke McCowan
- Arne Engels
- Paulo Bernardo
- Callum McGregor
- James Forrest
Forwards
- Benjamin Nygren
- Adam Idah
- Shin Yamada
- Callum Osmand
- Johnny Kenny
- Daizen Maeda
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