Celtic FC
Celtic FC

Celtic FC tore apart Rangers in the Old Firm Derby this weekend, beating their arch-rivals 4-0 but they have now a totally different challenge this week.

The Scottish side begin their Champions League campaign on Tuesday night and their first group game will be against Real Madrid. This is only the second time that these two sides will be facing off against each other. The last time these two teams met was way back in the 1979/80 season.

Celtic FC have lost eight of their last 10 Champions League games against Spanish opposition but the 4-0 win at the weekend would have given them a lot of confidence. They will have every plan to frustrate Real Madrid because they will be playing on their home turf and even if they can pick up a point, it will be a job well done by Ange Postecoglou’s team.

Celtic’s team news vs Real Madrid:

The manager used a full-strength side against Rangers on Saturday so he is expected to make only a handful of changes to his starting line up.

Taylor, Juranovic and Carter-Vickers are guaranteed starters but Starfelt did not have the best of outing in the derby which is why Moritz Jenz will be pushing for a place in the side.

Starfelt was taken off in the 56th minute with a knee ‘niggle’ and he was missing from training on Monday so he could actually be ruled out due to an injury.

Matt O’Riley provided two assists on Saturday so he along with McGregor are going to start in midfield but there’s a chance David Turnbull could replace Hatate as the third midfielder.

Kyogo Furuhashi picked up an injury very early on in the Old Firm Derby but as per the latest reports, he has trained on Monday morning so there’s a massive chance that he is going to be fit before Real Madrid come to town.

However, if Furuhashi is not available then Giakoumakis is going to lead the line.

Celtic FC predicted line up vs Real Madrid:

Predicted Starting XI(4-3-3): Hart; Taylor, Juranovic, Carter-Vickers, Starfelt/Jenz; McGregor, O’Riley, Turnbull; Jota, Furuhashi/Giakoumakis, Abada.

Celtic predicted line up vs Real Madrid - UCL 22/23
Celtic predicted line up vs Real Madrid – UCL 22/23