Gladbach season hits crunch week

Borussia Monchengladbach slipped to exactly mid-table in the Bundesliga on Saturday after giving 10-man Hamburg their second point of the season. On Wednesday we are still going to face a team vastly superior to anyone we will face in domestic football this season, but the visitors will not be as confident travelling to Glasgow as they were when the draw was made back in August.

Like Celtic, Borussia would not have fancied their chances of progressing to the knock out stage after their opening group game, but they now have to concern themselves more with becoming competitive against in Germany. That prospect isn’t about to get any easier, as after Celtic on Wednesday they travel to face Bayern Munich on Saturday.

All of this will feed into how Borussia approach the game. A point would allow them to take their head-to-head competition with Celtic back to Germany with hopes of finishing at least in the Europa League spot.

Celtic were not at their most fluid against Motherwell on Saturday (a significant sign when a 2-0 win can be described in that manner), but Brendan Rodgers will be clear in his game plan for Wednesday – press high, as we did against Manchester City last month.

It’s going to be a night which will require every ounce of strength from a packed Celtic Park. I’ve spoken to several Celtic managers and players about the impact the crowd can have in European nights. If we’re up for it, this one is there for us.

There’s a Family Fanzone at George Square from 13:00 on Wednesday afternoon.  Players will appear at 14:00 with club legends there at 16:00 and activities throughout the afternoon.  With the October break it’s an excellent opportunity to get into town and get into the mood early.