Celtic Park could be close to full on Thursday night when Braga come calling in the Europa League.
When tickets first went on sale, uptake was noticeably slow. Thousands of seats remained unsold as many season-ticket holders opted against taking them up, with some viewing that as a reflection of the current fan anger towards the Celtic board.
In recent days, though, sales have picked up. Plenty of the blue dots that once covered the stadium map have now gone, although there are still a good few seats scattered around and some sections where groups of tickets are available. It suggests the attendance will be high – but perhaps not quite a complete sell-out.
There are still tickets scattered about in almost every section on the ticket website.
What’s certain is that the night won’t be free from supporter protests. A silent demonstration has been planned for the opening 29 minutes, symbolising the 29 days since the board failed to issue a proper response to the open letter submitted by fan groups. It follows on from the 12-minute silence staged against Hibs and the late entry v Kilmarnock in recent weeks.
On the pitch, Celtic will be aiming to build on their opening 1-1 draw away to Red Star Belgrade, where Kelechi Iheanacho netted his first European goal for the club. Braga, meanwhile, started with a win over Feyenoord but are struggling in their domestic league, sitting seventh after a weekend defeat to Nacional.
It all points towards another big European night in Glasgow – though one that will once again be played against a backdrop of supporter unrest.
I’m not 100% convinced that all areas have been put on sale.
NW corner for example.
I guess we will see on Thursday.
Opted out of the HCTS in protest, it’s now in the board’s hands to resell my seat. Good luck with that.