The Celtic fans are preparing for their biggest game of the season as Brendan Rodgers takes his team to Rotterdam to face Feyenoord.
The Celtic gaffer will have been planning and organising his team to give them the best chance of taking something back to Glasgow in the first fixture of this season’s Champions League campaign.
Brendan Rodgers must unleash Reo Hatate for Celtic tonight
The Celtic manager has been without his Japanese midfielder for two weeks as Hatate recovered from a calf injury.
His absence was seriously felt by the Hoops as they only managed to score one goal in three games prior to the 3-0 win against Dundee this weekend.
The Celtic team were accused of lacking creativity in the midfield and when Hatate came on in the second half on Saturday for David Turnbull, his impact was almost instant.
The 25-year-old brought dynamism and craft the heart of the Celtic team and it is no coincidence that the Hoops looked more threatening when Hatate entered the fray.
His ‘top drawer‘ performance had one BBC pundit saying that Celtic could earn millions from his sale but with the club looking to extend Hatate’s contract, selling the midfielder couldn’t be further from Brendan Rodgers’ mind.
Hatate proved in last season’s Champions League campaign that he is suited to mixing it with Europe’s big guns. His performances against Real Madrid in particular earned him rave reviews.
But now that the Hoops are set to embark on another European adventure, TBR Celtic believe that if Brendan Rodgers wants to get off to a positive start, Hatate must be let loose on Feyernoort tonight.
Predicted Champions League Celtic XI vs Feyenoord
GK: Joe Hart
DEF: Greg Taylor, Nat Phillips, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Anthony Johnston
MID: Reo Hatate, Callum McGregor, Matt O’Riley
FW: Luis Palma, Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda
Score Prediction: Feyenoord 1 v 1 Celtic
In other news, ‘Apart from that’: Brendan Rodgers says one Celtic player could miss the Feyenoord game tonight