Opposition analysis: Celtic

After victory in the first leg, we're looking to repeat the feat in Glasgow! Unlucky defeats against defending champions Real Madrid and Shakhtar Donetsk were followed by a fantastic 3-1 win at home against Celtic. RB Leipzig now want to add to their points tally, as they travel to the legendary Celtic Park. 

The game will kick off on Tuesday, 11th October at 21:00 CEST. The Scottish Champions have suffered a couple of recent defeats, but are still top of the Scottish Premiership and recently got back to winning ways against St. Johnstone (2-1). 

Form

After a 2-1 win against Motherwell was followed by the Champions League defeat to Leipzig (3-1), Celtic were able to get back on track with a 2-1 win against St. Johnstone FC on matchday 10. Prior to that, they went three successive games without a win, having failed to win against Real Madrid (3-0 loss) and Shakhtar (1-1 draw) in the Champions League, before losing away at St Mirren. ‘The Bhoys’ won their first seven competitive fixtures this term, putting them top of the Scottish Premiership, ahead of city rivals Rangers, who they defeated 4-0 in the ‘Old Firm’ derby on matchday 6.

Last season, Celtic excelled with a run of 32 consecutive league games without defeat between matchday 7 at the end of September and the final matchday in the middle of May. Despite having a strong season of their own, Rangers ultimately finished the season six points behind their main rivals. 

The squad

Summer signings

Celtic were able to keep most of the squad responsible for last year's success together, and even strengthened it with the permanent signing of Jota from Benfica after a successful loan spell. New arrivals Cameron Carter Vickers (from Tottenham Hotspur), Daizen Maeda (on loan from Yokohama F. Marinos) and German Moritz Jenz (on loan from FC Lorient with an option to buy), have all established themselves in the squad.

Moritz Jenz, who is probably unknown to fans from his home country, found himself at Celtic via Fulham, Lausanne-Sport and Lorient. The 23-year-old centre-back, who has already scored twice this season, came through the youth system at Tennis Borussia Berlin.

Key players

Jota, Liel Abada and Kyogo Furuhashi play important roles in the Celtic attack – and every member of the trio recorded at least 25 direct goal contributions last season. This season, Jota, Abadi and Furuhashi are on eight, seven and six goal contributions respectively.

Skipper Callum McGregor and experienced goalkeeper Joe Hart are regarded as the key leaders in the squad. In Josip Juranovic, Celtic have a regular Croatia international, and a teammate of Joško Gvardiol, at right-back. 

The coach

Before he moved to Scotland last year, head coach Ange Postecoglou was probably only really known to experts and fans in Asia and Down Under. The Australian, born in Greece, managed the ‘Socceroos’ between 2013 and 2017, and moved from Yokohama to Celtic. Before coaching the Australian national team, he worked for – among others – Melbourne Victory (2012-13), Brisbane Roar (2009-12), and South Melbourne (1995-00). He also managed the Greek side Panachaiki FC for around nine months in 2008.

Under Postecoglou, Australia won the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, and he boasts four Australian domestic titles, the 1999 OFC Champions Cup – the equivalent to the Champions League in Oceania – and one Japanese League title. Celtic certainly took something of a risk in recruiting the 57-year-old, but one that has definitely paid off so far.

Head-to-head record

RBL have played the Scottish side twice before, both times in the group stage of the 2018 Europa League. Both sides won their home game, with a 2-0 win for Leipzig at the Red Bull Arena (with goals from Matheus Cunha and Bruma) and a 2-1 loss in Glasgow (with RBL’s goal scored by Jean-Kévin Augustin).

Celtic's last results

• 8th October | Scottish Premiership, matchday 10 | St. Johnstone FC 1-2 Celtic 
• 1st October | Scottish Premiership, matchday 9 | Celtic 2-1 Motherwell
• 18th September | Scottish Premiership, matchday 8 | St Mirren 2-0 Celtic
• 14th September | Champions League Group F, matchday 2 | Shakhtar Donetsk 1-1 Celtic
• 6th September | Champions League Group F, matchday 1 | Celtic 0-3 Real Madrid
• 3rd September | Scottish Premiership, matchday 6 | Celtic 4-0 Rangers

European competition history

Having won 52 titles and 40 cups, Celtic have a long history in European Competition, with the highlight undoubtedly being their 1967 European Cup triumph, as the Bhoys claimed a 2-1 victory over Inter Milan in Lisbon.

Celtic have not made it further than the round of 16 in the Champions League’s current format, though they did reach the 1970 European Cup final and the 2003 UEFA Cup  final. The last time they reached the knockout stages of the Champions League was in the 2012/13 season.