It’s matchday 5 of the Champions League and Celtic are heading into it withe two wins, a draw and a loss in their opening four games.
A win on Wednesday night would take Celtic to 10 points, which could be enough to see them qualify.
Brendan Rodgers hasn’t been making too many changes to his team selections recently; therefore, I’m not expecting anything drastic ahead of the tie.
I expect Celtic to field an unchanged starting XI against Club Brugge in Wednesday night’s Champions League fixture at Parkhead.
Following a dominant 4-1 victory over Hearts at the weekend, Brendan Rodgers is likely to stick with the same lineup as the Hoops aim to secure another crucial win.
Predicted XI:
- Goalkeeper: Kasper Schmeichel
- Defence: Alistair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, Greg Taylor
- Midfield: Callum McGregor, Arne Engels, Reo Hatate
- Attack: Nicolas Kuhn, Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda
While some fans are calling for Paulo Bernardo to start, particularly given his impressive recent cameos, Rodgers may choose to keep him as an impact substitute, especially as Brugge begins to tire. Arne Engels is expected to retain his place despite looking slightly fatigued against Hearts. Bernardo, effective off the bench, could again feature in the second half to inject energy and creativity.
While this XI appears likely for the Brugge match, changes can be anticipated for the weekend’s clash with Ross County in the Premiership. Rodgers may use that game as an opportunity to rest key players and give Bernardo or others a chance to start.
Would agree that looks like Rodgers preferred starting 11 at present?
But we are also turning into a full 90 minute team nowadays, with the impact our subs, can also provide from the bench?
All positions are fairly well covered now, that can even compensate ourselves, if any player is having an off night?
But nights like tonight, is where our support can provide that extra energy levels to our players, like we have done in this CL campaign to date?
Keep all those factors intact and expecting another CL success story again tonight imo?