In 16 years of Champions League matches Celtic Park hasn’t hosted anything like tomorrow’s tie with Anderlecht.
Effectively the match is a Europa League play-off- with the little bonus of Celtic starting 3-0 in front.
It’s four years since the hoops won a Champions League match at ‘Fortress Parkhead’ but the brutal fact is that a 2-0 defeat from Anderlecht would still represent success for the hoops however unusual.
That result wouldn’t sit easily with Brendan Rodgers who’ll want to see his side build on his best European result at the club when Celtic won 3-0 in Brussels.
A repeat of that performance would be ideal but a 1-0 win and a sound team performance will be more than welcome.
Anderlecht have little to lose but if presented by a Celtic side as formidable as the support from the stands they might show less than full enthusiasm.
How Anderlecht perform won’t be Rodgers’ focus, seeing his side react to pressure on the European stage will be invaluable with hopefully a Europa League campaign about to open up.