Celtic (A) - Pre-Match Thread....

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St.Pauli support said:
0.5m€ for a draw.
1.5m€ for a win... (which equals 7 weekly wages for Yaya!!)... :)

Seriously, spurs are the match of the week. As KDB and Nolito will be out for Sunday I would like to give Sterling, Silva, Gundo and Dinho as much of a rest as possible even on that rainy stormy Wed night up north.

Celtic should be a match for Navas and Fernando, 1 half each for Silva/Gundo, same for Sane/Sterling.
Maybe Delph could get some minutes? Last update said he could be back after Swansea. Any news there?
@karen7 Surely you'll follow a pre-match presser, do you know when?

I expect a win, as Celtic should have too many problems to cover our level. Nolito and Sergio could have some fun...
Even a draw wouldn't be a disaster for City. Winning the group would be perfect, but 2nd is good enough. Shouldn't be a problem to achieve that.
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Whenever we finish 2nd in the group we tend to draw one of the top 2-3 sides that are left in it. No problem? I'd like to think otherwise. I agree Spurs has a much better team, but that won't make Celtic an easy victim. Far from it when it is their first homegame in the groupstage. Nor do I expect us to beat Barcelona twice.

Delph hasn't played a lot this term and coming back from an injury my guess is Pep will pick another moment to give him minutes. If he's fit at all. And even if he's fit I rate Fernando in that position to Delph anyway.

With KdB out (I guess), I expect Pep to play both Silva and Gundogan, as well as Fernandinho. With Fernando to come on or maybe start (but that would be Pep ajusting to the opponent, a thing he never does do). To me it's just a matter of who he will play out wide from Nolito/Sterling/Sane and Navas. Nolito will be able to play and he likes a battle. He will have learned his lesson to keep a cool head and stop button it around.
 
eversince 76 said:
Whenever we finish 2nd in the group we tend to draw one of the top 2-3 sides that are left in it. No problem? I'd like to think otherwise. I agree Spurs has a much better team, but that won't make Celtic an easy victim. Far from it when it is their first homegame in the groupstage. Nor do I expect us to beat Barcelona twice.

Delph hasn't played a lot this term and coming back from an injury my guess is Pep will pick another moment to give him minutes. If he's fit at all. And even if he's fit I rate Fernando in that position to Delph anyway.

With KdB out (I guess), I expect Pep to play both Silva and Gundogan, as well as Fernandinho. With Fernando to come on or maybe start (but that would be Pep ajusting to the opponent, a thing he never does do). To me it's just a matter of who he will play out wide from Nolito/Sterling/Sane and Navas. Nolito will be able to play and he likes a battle. He will have learned his lesson to keep a cool head and stop button it around.
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Might be too much of an ask for Gundogan to play another game and we don't want to burn him out

Fernando imo because he has improved this year and will allow Dihno to go further forward

Nolito and Sterling with Dave behind Serg
 
ONTHERUNWITHTHAKSIN said:
Might be too much of an ask for Gundogan to play another game and we don't want to burn him out

Fernando imo because he has improved this year and will allow Dihno to go further forward

Nolito and Sterling with Dave behind Serg
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Yeah, I think 3 games in 7 days might be too much for Gundogan. I'd probably put him on the bench with one eye on Spurs.
 
I think the team pretty much picks itself apart from the full backs.

Bravo

Zabaleta - Otamendi - Stones - Clichy

Fernandinho

Gundogan - Silva

Sterling - Aguero - Nolito​

Caballero, Kolarov, Sagna, Fernando, Delph, Navas, Iheanacho.
 
Think we'll see Pep looking slightly towards the weekend with this one. Fernando in midfield probably for Gundogan and the wide men will be Nolito and Sane with Navas and Sterling to play at Spurs. Standard fullback switching and Kolarov to get a rest. Slight rotation but still an extremely good side that should be way too much for Celtic.

------------Bravo

Zab Otamendi Stones Clichy

Fernando Fernandinho Silva

-----Sane Aguero Nolito
 
Just had a thought when catching up on reading this thread -

Did Gundog play at Wembley for Borussia against Bayern in the CL Final - / a couple of years back ?.

PMSl.... I forgot Celtic lost in Gibralta and Israel.
 
Bluep*ss said:
Just had a thought when catching up on reading this thread -

Did Gundog play at Wembley for Borussia against Bayern in the CL Final - / a couple of years back ?.

PMSl.... I forgot Celtic lost in Gibralta and Israel.
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Gundogan did play in the final.
 
Bluep*ss said:
Just had a thought when catching up on reading this thread -

Did Gundog play at Wembley for Borussia against Bayern in the CL Final - / a couple of years back ?.

PMSl.... I forgot Celtic lost in Gibralta and Israel.
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Played and scored.
 
A win of any kind will do us for Weds. night. After that 2 draws against Barcalona will do as well. Which means it will come do to the 2 games against Broussia Monchengladbach away and Celtic at home. It may well boil down to goal difference between .us and Barcalona
 
For those of you making the trip upto Celtic Park, here's a few thoughts of what the worlds best have to say about the atmosphere at Celtic Park...

"I’ve been fortunate to play in some great stadiums in Europe with Barcelona but none compare to Celtic. The atmosphere their fans create make it a very special European night of football."
Messi (Sep 2013)

“I have a Celtic jersey at home. The games against Celtic were special and I want to remember them. Celtic Park is a tough place to go to, it is never easy to get a result there. It is the best atmosphere in Europe and we all want to experience that again.”
Messi (Barcelona, Apr 2015)

"I have played many games for Spain/Barca but I've never heard fans like Celtic, they were amazing, not quiet for a single second!"
Andres Iniesta (Barcelona Player, Oct 2012) after Celtic 2-1 Barcelona

“Then when I got out on the pitch and the match began, I tried to communicate with my team player.But I heard nothing.The audience had such a mood.I did not hear what my team players said, if they called me or even the slightest, because it was such a beautiful and awesome atmosphere.It’s probably the best I have seen on the pitch.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic recalls his experience of Celtic from the Ajax 1-0 Celtic match of 2001 (2013)

“When you step out at Celtic Park, the atmosphere they create for their team is incredible. It doesn’t matter how many big games you have played in. Walking out into that atmosphere is always intense. I don’t think I have seen anything like the Celtic fans in all the stadiums I have played. What makes them the best, for me, is their support when they lose. It is easy to make noise when you win against Barcelona but in Spain we beat them 6-1 and most fans would have left the stadium. However, at the end, the fans were making noise like they had just won the Champions League, not like a team that had just conceded six."
Xavi (Barcelona player, 2014)

The atmosphere generated by the fans in Celtic’s stadium for our visit was the most impressive I’ve ever witnessed. The grounds of Liverpool and Manchester United are good and the hostile feeling of playing against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu is also excellent, but the atmosphere against Celtic was the best."
Xavi (Barcelona) (Sep 2004)

"When we played at Celtic Park for Bayern in the Champions League it was unbelievable and I think all our players said the same thing afterwards. The atmosphere was just totally unique. I've played in lots of big games and stadiums but I've never witnessed fans making that much noise in 90 minutes."
Owen Hargreaves (Man U & England footballer)

"Every professional footballer should seek to play at least one game at Celtic Park, I have never felt anything like it"

Paolo Maldini (AC Milan & Italy football legend)

Enjoy the experience guys, it's a crazy crazy atmosphere up there

 
This is the team I'd start with. With a little eye on Spurs on Sunday.
Keep Sterling fresh for the weekend. Bring Gundogan on around the 60 minute mark for Fernandinho, likewise, bring Sane & Kelechi on for Silva and Aguero around the same time!

............................Bravo

Zabba.........Otamendi.......Stones.........Clichy

..............Fernandinho....Fernando

Navas......................Silva.................Nolito

...........................Aguero.
 
For those of you doubting Celtic's credentials against premiership opposition, they had a 1-1 result against Leicester in the International Champions Cup back in July. Okay, nothing more than a 'friendly' match but considering Leicester ran riot in the Premier League last season tells you that this isn't going to be a walkover.

Celtic are far from being a League 1 or Championship side for that matter. (Stoke/West Ham/Sunderland/Palace/Swansea/WBA/Hull/Bournemouth etc) They wouldn't have qualified for the group stages if that was the case (3 qualification games) - Celtic are limited by their spending power (Max wage approx. £35kpw), if they had English premiership type cash (and subsequent investment from Chinese/Russian billionaires) they would be challenging after a few seasons in my opinion. They have a strong European history, were the first British club to win the European cup back in 1967 and they have a huge global fanbase. They're severely restricted playing in Scotland but that's never likely to change.

Celtic will realistically be aiming for that 3rd spot to drop back down into the Europa league so there's something for them to play for. Celtic beat Barcelona 2-1 with a weaker side than they have now when they last played in 2012 so anything is possible. If there is anyone that likes a punt at the bookies, Celtic with BTTS is 14/1 at the moment, huge odds and worth a tenner.

Regardless, I'm sure it will be a great game with a great atmosphere
 
Rammyblues said:
Only change I foresee is Nolito for KDB at the moment.
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He might make other changes for tactical reasons, if he wasn't happy with performances against Spurs, or to rotate the full backs. But definitely not to rest players for the Spurs game.
 
When was the last time Celtic played an English team in a competitive game?
 
CBhoy67 said:
The atmosphere generated by the fans in Celtic’s stadium for our visit was the most impressive I’ve ever witnessed. The grounds of Liverpool and Manchester United are good and the hostile feeling of playing against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu is also excellent, but the atmosphere against Celtic was the best."
Xavi (Barcelona) (Sep 2004)
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Low standards then.
 
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