Celtic’s u-19 side kick off a big weekend at home to Aberdeen at Barrowfield, kick-off 1.30pm.
The glamour of Monday’s visit from Manchester City is strictly out of bounds with the young hoops chasing a third successive title on the back of watching Marcus Fraser make his first team debut last night against Rennes.
International commitments and the Next Gen Series have left Celtic playing catch up on the fixtures front but after winning away to league leaders Hearts the young hoops have notched up four wins on the bounce including a 5-1 win at Kilmarnock on Saturday.
“Aberdeen are in a rich veign of form like ourselves so this should be a good match and a big test for us,” Academy boss Tommy McIntyre said.
“We’re happy with the way that our side is developing, we’ve got a good squad of players fighting it out to be selected.
“The players that come in know what’s required to hang on to a jersey and that’s exactly what Patrik Twardzik did at Kilmarnock on Saturday.
“We moved him out wide when John Herron got injured and he responded with three goals. One of them carried a bit of good fortune but the other two were top drawer finishes. He’s capable of that but needs to show it on a consistant basis.
“Patrik picked up a bad injury away to Marseilles but showed us what he’s capable of at Kilmarnock. That performance will give him a lot of confidence. We played well at Kilmarnock but the players know that there is lots that they can improve on.”
Celtic drew 1-1 at Aberdeen earlier in the season with the Dons sitting on 20 points with Celtic although they have played three games more.
McIntyre came through the ranks at Aberdeen in the eighties and keeps a keen eye on the progress of his former club.
“Aberdeen always produce strong youth teams,” he added. “They drew 2-2 with us at Barrowfield last season in one of our toughest matches.
“They’ve already drawn with Rangers at Murray Park this season and will be buoyed by a great 4-0 win over Dundee United.
“All of our thoughts are on this match, it would be unprofessional and disrespectful for anyone to be thinking about the Manchester City match.
“We’re looking forward to a good match and for the boys to continue the form that they’ve shown over the last few matches.”
Barcelona beat Manchester City 4-1 last night to take their points tally to 12 from five matches in the Next Gen Series. Celtic must beat Manchester City at home on Monday, kick-off 7.45 pm, to keep alive their hopes of qualifying with fixtures away to Barcelona and at home to Marseilles to follow.
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