There are hidden dangers with any opponent. Hearts arrived at Celtic Park bottom of the league on Saturday, but when you looked into their results, they dominated most games, just couldn’t finish.
We have Falkirk on Sunday, who are five wins from five in the Championship and look every inch a Premiership side. Look hard enough and you will find the threat. However, there are some games, like home to Hearts and Falkirk, that no matter the threat, Celtic really should win.
Slovan Bratislava are comfortably better than any side we have faced this season, but if we have any notion of being a Champions League team, we have to collect all three points against the tournament’s debutants tonight.
So far this season Slovan’s form has been excellent. They came through four qualifying ties undefeated and managed to eliminate Midtjylland in the playoff round. Top of the Slovak league, they won away at third place Duajska Streda on Saturday, with an 89th minute penalty (they conceded a 98th minute penalty which was not converted).
The only cloud this season was a 0-5 home defeat to second placed MSK Zilina, which came three days after that win over Midtjylland, and preparations were not as good as they will be for tonight’s game. Best to ignore this result and expect the side who knocked out the team who are undefeated and top of the table in Sweden.
The most compelling observation from Slovan’s stats is that they concede and create a high number of chances. Expect goals tonight.
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Dinamo not Finamo
“Slovan Bratislava are comfortably better than any side we have faced this season”
And there’s the rub.
We begin our campaign with (on paper) our easiest of the eight fixtures … and yet it is our hardest game of the season so far.
Some parallels with 2008/09 Champions League group stage campaign.
We started with our easiest fixture – home to Aalborg – and drew 0-0.
It immediately put a downer on our campaign which became one of those “close but no cigar” situations. We did OK but not good enough. Sigh.
I’m feeling more positive about this campaign.
From recent media conferences Brendan looks like he is in a good place.
Let’s see if and how that translates … starting tonight
Posting is a nightmare today
Desktop links from cqn mainpage not working.
Tablet and phone plastered with ads
Glad wifi at Celtic park doesn’t work.
Ps. New stairs in use for the lions stands.
Pps. I am told slovan have a nasty element who have traveled. Let’s see what tonight brings.
Also I don’t ever like the over confident patter. We have been done dozens of home games against minor names who get tactics correct.
James for me before Kuhn.
All about the decision making. And James experience brings this.
When was the last time BBC Sport Scotland used their delegated editorial authority to promote a Celtic story to the very top of the main BBC Football page?
They’ve done it now.
Bet you can guess the content and tone without even reading the article.
No team that has won five of it’s qualifiers will be easy meat, these guys will be the usual slick, pacey continental outfit. European football is always something to look forward to and particularly the birth of this new competition will be something special.
We pretty well held our own at Celtic Park last season except for a bit of bad luck against Lazio in the final minutes would have been unbeaten at home.
I am expecting a tight game and it will take a top performance from the Hoops to get the dream start and full points
Back to Basics – Glass Half Full on 18th September 2024 4:33 pm
Just read that article and concluded that it could have been written by one or two on here !!
See James Forrest is predicting that we could finish on 15 points. Absolutely no way that will happen. Would require 4 wins and 3 draws from 8 games or 5 wins and 3 losses. That’s not happening.
If we finish with around 11 or 12 points, we’ll have a great chance of qualifying.
3-1 to us tonight.
I`ve had a bit of a look at Slovan Bratislava and I am even more convinced that we are the better side and that we will win tonight.
I hope Celtic Park is Celtic Park at its best tonight.
Cheerio for now.
You can usually tell from the warm up if the opposition are any good !
No idea how Celtic’s SPL football will fair against Slovan, very difficult to compare leagues. Expect we’ll face a technically more competent side, like a Cluj or Malmo, how the visitors adapt is their problem.
Home advantage under the Parkhead lights including full disco, registers with bigger clubs than Slovan. This is now very much a Brendan side, and the players who were there under Ange are responding to the mercurial Irishman and his coaching team.
BR’s high press, score first and early is his trademark formula. Great, so long as the back door remains shut. Reckon he’ll start with the same players arguably his ‘best’ side. The five sub rule change, is right up Celtic’s street, big clubs have strength and options in depth, like never before.
Schmeichel
Johnston
CCV
Scales
Taylor
Engels
CalMac
Hatate
Kuhn
Kyogo
Maeda
Any win will do CSC
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24594372.league-champions-celtic-fcs-plunge-profits—caused/?ref=rss
This is wild journalism. A plunge in profit !! 😂 some clubs would kill for a plunge in profit…
Past experiences in recent years have made me nervous, I long for the days when the very best in Europe dreaded playing in Celtic Park.
These guys are no mugs, they came through a testing qualification process, they will put up a stiff resistance,
However if we play close to our best we should win,
I’m confident but I still have a pain in my gut.
Paul, Midtjylland are top of the Danish League not Swedish, played ten won 8 drawn 2, watched both legs of qualifiers. There wasn’t much between them and Bratislava, the Slovakians looked good going forward not so good at the back. Play well we’ll beat them, have an off night and we could be in trouble. This is a must win game.
https://x.com/tamseiiicsoniii/status/1836448027562680532?s=46&t=pDES6SOUiUWS5mfwZ1ZMaQ
VG
Bada
Superb
See Red Bull Salzburg have had 74% possession, no shots on goal and are 2-0 down.
Got to be effective in possession or it means nothing.
!!BADA BING!! on 18TH SEPTEMBER 2024 6:34 PM
https://x.com/tamseiiicsoniii/status/1836448027562680532?s=46&t=pDES6SOUiUWS5mfwZ1ZMaQ
—————
😂😂😂
1. K. Schmeichel
3. G. Taylor
5. L. Scales
20. C. Carter-Vickers
2. A. Johnston
41. R. Hatate
42. C. McGregor (c), Captain
27. A. Engels
38. D. Maeda
8. K. Furuhashi
10. N. Kühn