Hoops Hungry For Dutch Delight

Hoops Hungry For Dutch Delight
~~~~~~~~~~ Official TC Match Preview ~~~~~~~~~~


September: Skipper Callum McGregor in action against Feyenoord's Calvin Stengs

Celtic Park, Glasgow
Wednesday, 13 December 2023
20.00 BST​

Celtic will be looking to conclude their European interests for this season with what hopefully will be a winning performance to remember, when they host the visit of the Eredivisie Champions, Feyenoord, on Wednesday evening.

Sadly, this is a dead rubber match for both sides, with the visitors (6 points) having secured 3rd in the Group but will be unable to catch Lazio's 10 points, while Celtic have only pride to play for after what has been an otherwise underwhelming European campaign.

And coming into this game on the heels of a sobering 2-1 defeat at the hands of Kilmarnock - the second such result this season - which really underlines how inconsistent Celtic have been since Brendan Rodgers returned to the club, as the Bhoys have once again failed in the attempt to win a third consecutive game this season.

One of the silver linings of this time of year is that the fixtures do continue to come thick and fast, and there isn't be a lot of time to dwell on the disappointment of Sunday. So while pride has been dented, a measure of that pride can also be restored - in addition to taking so much confidence - should the Bhoys bag a big Champions League victory on Wednesday.


Matt O'Riley scored his 9th league goal of the season against Killie on Sunday

Momentum can be everything in football and if they can get a win in the Champions League, not only will it be a filip for the remaining December fixtures, but would benefit to be rid of so the millstone of not having won in this competition that has weigh them down since 2017 - should they qualify for next season's tournament.

As for Feyenoord, although they may've fallen 10 points off the pace behind rivals PSV Eindhoven in the Eredivisie title race this season, Arne Slot's side have done enough in this Champions League group, with 2 wins at home, to ensure that they will be in the Europa League in the new year.

Should Celtic win, they will have to earn it, and the fans will be hoping for a better showing than the match back in September, when the Bhoys finished with 9 men on the park, after Holm and Lagerbielke both saw red in the 2-0 loss in Rotterdam.

And unlike on that occasion, the Hoops may have to face the visitors with an improved attack than they did that night, with Santiago Gimenez available for this match after missing out on that first encounter, with the 22y.o. having already netted 20 times this season - including twice in the Champions League.

Stats & Facts​

• The Bhoys have not tasted victory in the Champions League since September 2017.

• Brendan Rodgers will want to improve his record of two wins in his 23 Champions League outings - once during his time with Liverpool and the second during his first spell here.

• Joe Hart has recorded just 3 clean sheets in the past 14 games - and 0 in the past 5.

• Celtic have conceded at least 2 goals in each of the 5 Champions League games this season.

Santiago Gimenez has already scored 18 goals & 3 assists in 15 Eredivisie games this season

Team News

The Bhoys will welcome back the return of Cameron Carter-Vickers, who missed the weekend's trip to Ayrshire after feeling some tightness in his hamstring against Hibs last week, while Daizen Maeda and Liel Abada continue to work their way back to fitness on the training pitch and could begin to come into contention. However, the Hoops will continue to be without Reo Hatate (hamstring) and Stephen Welsh (ankle).

As for Feyenoord, the visitors will be without Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Yankuba Minteh, Bart Nieuwkoop and Ayase Ueda. However, Arne Slot could have Quilindschy Hartman back, after the defender missed Thursday's game due to concussion protocol, having going off with a head knock in the previous game against PSV Eindhoven.

Referee: Benoît Bastien (FRA)

The 40 year old Bastien made his Champions League debut in 2017 and has since taken charge of 13 Group Stage games. The Frenchman has once previously taken charge of a game involving Celtic - the 1-0 away win in Europa League Qualifying against FK Sarajevo in October 2020.

VAR: Benoît Millot



~~~~ Head to Head ~~~~

Overall
P: 2 W: 0 D: 0 L: 2​

Celtic v All Dutch Opposition
P: 18 W: 8 D: 2 L: 8

~~~~ 2023/24 Form ~~~~ ​

Overall
L W L D W ~ W L L W W​