Celtic have really hit top gear in the Scottish Premiership, after a disappointing start the Scottish champions have won their last five league games and scoring twenty-one goals in the process.

Yet in Europe, Brendan Rodgers’ side have been pretty disappointing. They were knocked of the Champions League by Greek side AEK Athens during the qualifying stages. That saw The Hoops drop into the group stages of the Europa League.

It was hoped that Celtic could prove themselves in UEFA’s second tier competition. They edged out Rosenborg in their opening fixture but they’ve since lost to RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg.

Up next is Bundesliga cracks Leipzig at Celtic Park and it looks like it might be a must win for The Hoops.

It should be noted that Celtic’s two defeats came away from home and they are a much better outfit when they’re playing under the lights at Celtic Park. Even in Europe, Celtic have been impressive at home.

Rodgers has stated that he thinks that home advantage could be vital and that he’s hopeful that the team can bring their upturn in domestic performances into the game against Die Bullen:

“It’s always a different game at Celtic Park. We know that we’re playing at a much better level and we’ll need to be at the very highest level to get the result.”

Parkhead needs to be rocking again tonight. The fans need to make it an intimidating atmosphere and be the team’s twelfth man.

The Celtic gaffer also needs to step up.

All too often, Brendan Rodgers has been too stubborn with his tactics during continental games. We know he likes to see his side attack and play pretty passing football but sometimes you just need to win, even if that means shutting up shop and winning ugly.

They’ve got a capable striker in Odsonne Edouard, who has already scored four times in Europe this season.

Tom Rogic and Callum McGregor are attacking midfielders that can step up and grab vital goals, while Ryan Christie is starting to prove himself at Celtic Park and has scored three times in his last three games.

The more Dedryck Boyata and Filip Benkovic play beside each other in the heart of defence, the better their duo are getting. Under Brendan, Celtic have struggled to really get a strong and consistent defensive partnership and they need that strong backbone in Europe. The Hoops faithful will be hoping that Benkovic and Boyata can be the solid foundation that they’ve been missing.

It’s fantastic for the Parkhead club that they’ve won two domestic trebles in a row but for a club like Celtic and their support they need to be more competitive during European nights. It’s particularly galling when they look at Rangers doing well in the Europa League under Steven Gerrard, The Gers have still to taste defeat in Europe so far this term.

A win over RB Leipzig could turn things around dramatically in the Europa League. Defeat could see them staring at their second European exit of the season.

Posted on November 8th, 2018 by scott
Filed under: Article