Celtic travel to Italy on Wednesday knowing their defence will face another mental test.
Added pressure hasn’t just been put on the backline, but the whole Celtic team after the humiliation of their previous Champions League match.
Celtic were outclassed by Borussia Dortmund during a period when the team was absolutely flying and had zero mental scares.
But once again, that dark Champions League cloud is above Brendan Rodgers’ head and many are looking for a response.
That response could come in the form of a positive result, but others feel Rodgers needs to change tact in Europe.
One thing that needs to be noted is that Cameron Carter-Vickers, the club’s best defender, has been sidelined since September and he missed that Dortmund game, so that doesn’t help anyone’s cause.
Michael Stewart backs Cameron Carter-Vickers to start for Celtic against Atalanta
In Carter-Vickers’ absence, his fellow countryman, Auston Trusty has filled in, but he is still trying to find his own feet after arriving in the summer.
Either way, fans are eagerly waiting to see if Carter-Vickers is available and plays, with Michael Stewart stating that he is a ‘massive plus’ for the team.
Some would say don’t risk him, but Stewart feels if he is ‘close’ then Rodgers will throw him in and he plays, as he told The Scottish Football Podcast.
“Carter-Vickers being in the side is a massive plus for them,” said Stewart. “You saw that last season when there were a lot of problems and there was a lot of uncertainty around what was actually happening. The team had players missing
“When Carter-Vickers came back into the team, he brought a calmness. He brought a confidence to those who were around him with his performances and leadership skills. Even though the team has been doing really, really well this season.
“When you take somebody like him out of the team, it’s obviously going to have an effect – Celtic defensively, with Carter-Vickers, it becomes a more difficult task (for the opposition). Aberdeen were able to exploit what they had there. For Celtic, it’s going to be a huge game against Atalanta. If Carter-Viickers is close, I would imagine that he is going to be playing that game.”
Carter-Vickers training with Celtic ahead of Atalanta game
Celtic’s clash against Atalanta is one of the toughest from the pretty reasonable Champions League draw they were handed.
After all, they are the Europa League winners and caused Arsenal many problems during their goalless draw against the English side.
In that aspect, you would argue that Carter-Vickers should be pushed to start this game.
And now training footage has emerged of Carter-Vickers before the Atalanta match, which is a big plus for everyone involved.
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