Celtic v Club Brugge: team news, referee details, KO time & where to watch | OneFootball

Celtic face Club Brugge this evening in the UEFA Champions League. The Scottish Champions host the visitors from Belgium on Matchday Five of Europe’s elite competition.

Celtic will be looking to make it four home Champions League wins in a row with a result against Brugge as Brendan Rodgers’ side look to move onto ten points. Celtic have won two and drawn one of their opening four games and will be looking to continue their fine home performances with a win against Nicky Hayen’s side.

Team News

Brendan has no fresh injury concerns from the win against Hearts. It is expected that the manager will play the same team that beat the Jambos on Saturday night, despite some strong showings from Adam Idah and Paulo Bernardo off the bench.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers talks with Callum McGregor of Celtic during the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic FC and RB Leipzig at Celtic Park on November 05, 2024 (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Kasper Schmeichel will start in goals.

Auston Trusty and Cameron Carter-Vickers will comprise the central pairing with Greg Taylor and Alistair Johnston in the wide areas.

Despite Bernardo impressing at Tynecastle, it is expected that the manager will name an unchanged trio. Callum McGregor will skipper the team with Reo Hatate and Arne Engels in the centre of the pitch.

The wide attackers are a stick-on – Nicolas Kühn has been Celtic’s Player of the Year so far and he will start out right with Daizen Maeda starting on the left.

The manager will have to decide whether to go with Kyogo through the middle or to go with Adam Idah. The Irishman netted a brace in the closing stages of the win at Tynecastle after replacing his forward colleague from the bench. Idah’s profile is different to Kyogo and it may be a consideration to give Celtic ‘an out ball’ against the Belgians. However, you would expect that Kyogo would start given his movement with Idah coming on later in the game.

Celtic players pose for a team photo on the pitch prior to the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic FC and RB Leipzig at Celtic Park on November 05, 2024. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Referee Details

UEFA have confirmed the refereeing appointments for the game with Bulgarian referee Georgi Kabakov taking charge of the game with Assistant Referees Martin Martgaritov and Diyan Valkov as well as compatriot Vasil Minev operating as Fourth Official.

Dragomir Draganov will be in the VAR hotseat and the Bulgarian official will be assisted by Christian Dingert of Germany.

Kick Off Time

The game kicks off at 8pm (Celtic Park Time).

Nicolas Kuhn of Celtic celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic FC and RB Leipzig at Celtic Park on November 05, 2024 (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Where to Watch

The game will be shown on TNT Sport 3 and Discovery+. Coverage will begin at 7pm and it is expected that Super Joe Hart will be on Co-Comms with Neil Lennon in as a pundit.

Celtic and Club Brugge will go into this game knowing that three points can put them in a great position to qualify for the play-off round. With one point separating them, both will be eager to get three points. The teams enjoyed successful weekends respectively in preparation for the meeting at Paradise, Celtic were 4-1 winners against Hearts at Tynecastle while Club Brugge won 7-0 against St Truidense at the weekend.