It’s almost go time at Celtic Park ahead of tomorrow evening’s Champions League tie vs Bayern Munich.
Brendan Rodgers and his squad welcome Vincent Kompany and his to Glasgow as the two sides get ready to put on a show in front of a packed out stadium.
Celtic have prepared for the glamour tie with two excellent results and performances in a row where they have managed 11 goals scored without conceding at the other end.
Six different scorers found the net during those two fixtures against Dundee and Raith Rovers respectively and that has helped build confidence among both the squad as well as the supporters in the stands.
It is set to be a special atmosphere, so says Bayern boss Kompany, while Alan McInally feels the Scottish giants can have a go at their opponents who have a “vulnerability” to attack.
Ahead of the tie, 67 Hail Hail pored over the most recent club footage from training in preparation for the big one.
And here is what we learned.
Daizen Maeda is ready
Celtic thought they would be without Japanese star Maeda following a red card against Young Boys on matchday seven in the competition.
The attacker missed his side’s brave 4-2 defeat away to Aston Villa before the playoff draw was made.
It looked as though the 27-year-old would then miss the first-leg vs Bayern after UEFA opted to hit him with a further match suspension, but the Hoops appealed that decision and won.
That means Maeda will be free to start if he is picked and his work ethic and running power will be so vital to Celtic’s chances of a result.
Cameron Carter-Vickers back in action
The American was unavailable vs Raith Rovers in Saturday’s Scottish Cup victory with Dane Murray deputising.
CCV did not play at all in that one with one eye, presumably on tomorrow’s action.
The defender was spotted in full training for Celtic and will be another key component for his side should they make a dent in their tie.
Kasper Schmeichel fit and raring to go
A back injury kept Schmeichel out against Rovers despite the fact that the Dane has been clear he wants to play every single minute he can.
Had he not suffered with that issue it’s likely he’d have played in the Cup but it could be a blessing in disguise that Viljami Sinisalo got 90 minutes with Schmeichel now back and ready for Bayern.
It is no disrespect towards Sinisalo to suggest it is a relief to have Schmeichel back between the sticks as the likes of Harry Kane and other attackers in the away side will have a lot of questions for the goalie to try and answer.
Celtic will need their number one.
Jota option after changes
Rodgers made three changes to his squad with the likes of Kyogo and others no longer with the club.
That made room for Jota as well as Johnny Kenny within the squad for tomorrow and the manager will definitely look to make good use of his full quota if and when he must.
Maeda may well start ahead of Jota given his lack of full fitness but the Portuguese winger offers something entirely different and may be called upon later in the game to provide a fresh dimension in attack.
Jeffrey Schlupp or Greg Taylor?
Another player added to the UCL squad was Schlupp and the defender may also be called upon.
Rodgers has two strong left-back options and both players trained well and trained hard this morning at Lennoxtown.
It’s probably going to be Taylor at left-back from the start simply for his experience in the competition.
But having 32-year-old Schlupp as backup is not a poor alternative to have.
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