It is apparently a meaningless fixture but don’t try telling that to the Celtic players or supporters heading down to Manchester on Tuesday.
Under Brendan Rodgers everything is meaningful with Tuesday’s match another opportunity to bridge the gap between domestic and European football.
The Celtic boss will already be well down the road towards strengthening his squad in January but the current squad has progressed well in a Champions League group where they were expected to take no points.
Rodgers wouldn’t dream of sending out a team to park the bus, like they did at home to Barcelona Celtic will be confident on the ball and push forward taking the game to City as best they can.
If there is any sign that City think they can go through the motions in a dead rubber they could be in real trouble.
There is plenty of competition for places in the Celtic side giving Rodgers options to think over although a fully fit Scott Sinclair would be the best option of all.
It’ll be an interesting game to watch with lots for the Celtic manager to learn from and enjoy.