Are we in for a memorable Euro night, as Celtic return to Champions League action?

Celtic will get their Champions League campaign underway tonight as they travel to Rotterdam to take on Dutch Eredivisie champions Feyenoord.

The Hoops prepared for their visit to the Netherlands in good fashion as they comfortably dispatched of Dundee with a thrilling second-half display at the weekend.

After a slow start to the season, a gutsy performance at Ibrox has inspired life back into this Celtic side and fans will be hoping Brendan Rodgers’ men can continue to instil this warrior mentality into the Champions League group stage.

Celtic will be without some key players with Liel Abada and Cameron Carter-Vickers out for prolonged periods and Nat Phillips potentially being a doubt after being substituted at half-time on Saturday against Dundee. Kyogo Furuhashi confirmed that he will be fit for the trip after he departed the field on Saturday to have his shoulder popped back into place. That will be welcome news for fans as having the Japanese forward fit and at the top of his game will be vital to success in Rotterdam.

Celtic have only ever faced Feyenoord competitively once in the club’s history. That game, of course, being the 1970 European Cup final when the Dutch side came out 2-1 winners after extra time at the San Siro.

There is never a timeframe on revenge, though, and Celtic have waited 53 long years for the opportunity to get back at the Dutch side. However, despite Feyenoord seeming like the team Celtic would have the best chance against on paper, The Dutch champions are no pushovers.

Feyenoord currently sit 4th in the Eredivisie, one point behind PSV, AZ and Twente who are all tied for first. However, they have been hammering every team that stands before them in recent weeks, with their last three games seeing an aggregate score of 17-3.

Feyenoord will be without star Mexican striker Santiago Gimenez as the forward misses out through suspension. Gimenez’s deputy Ayase Ueda is fit to start, however, as last-minute news broke of his availability when it seemed in doubt.

Feyenoord have a good young core in their squad, with midfielder Mats Wieffer arguably being their best player. The midfielder burst onto the scene last season and is a current Netherlands international.

 

Feyenoord have a good recent record in European competitions with manager Arne Slot making real strides forward as his team reached the Europa Conference League final in 2021/22. Jose Mourinho’s Roma stood in their way in the final having knocked out Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester in the semis. Last season, Feyenoord got to the quarter-finals of the Europa League where again Mourinho’s Roma stood in their way.

This will be their first crack at the Champions League since 2017/18 where they were knocked out in the group stages.

There will be many key decisions Rodgers will have to make with his team selection, as the centre-back and winger positions are both still up for grabs with the usuals starters out injured.

Another big call Rodgers will have to make is on whether to start Reo Hatate or not, with the Japanese playmaker having had a positive impact on the team when he came on from the bench on Saturday.

Rodgers will have to get things spot-on and fans will be keeping an eye out to see whether Rodgers has learned his lessons from his last crack at the Champions League at Parkhead.

JAMES MCKENZIE // Follow James HERE