Brendan Rodgers has had an outstanding start to his managerial career at Celtic, with a ‘Double-Treble’ achieved in his first two seasons with the club. There is no doubt that they are the dominant team in Scotland right now but the competition that Rodgers will be desperate to do well in is the Champions League. In his two seasons in charge, Rodgers has steered them into the group stages but they have been unable to progress any further.
Bet on AEK Athens vs Celtic with bet365
The stakes are high
Tonight Celtic play AEK Athens away from home, with the aggregate score at 1-1, knowing that they must score to have a chance of going through. The stakes are as high as they can come for Celtic and they will be trying everything to secure qualification. Progress into the group stages will bring extra TV revenue and prize money, so the difference between getting through and going into the Europa League is considerable.
Rodgers hoping he can start Moussa Dembele
Rodgers will be throwing everything that he has in his locker to get the team through to the playoff round, meaning that Moussa Dembele could be risked in the game if he is close to being fully fit. He has missed the last five games with a hamstring injury but he is without a doubt the man that can take it up a notch in the big games.
The stage could not be bigger for a qualifying round match, with Celtic going to the famous Olympic Stadium in Athens. The last thing that Celtic need is distractions but the transfer window has proven to be a difficult one. They missed out on the signing of John McGinn after he chose a move to Aston Villa last week. Much to Rodgers’ disappointment, Dedryck Boyata is now seemingly pushing for a move away from Celtic and has not travelled with the squad to Athens.
How to watch AEK Athens vs Celtic
The match kicks off at 19:00 BST and will be televised by BT Sports.
