Celtic vs Feyenoord

Celtic and Feyenoord are set to trade tackles at Celtic Park in a Champions League Group E dead rubber.

Already resigned to earning the wooden spoon in Group E following a nightmarish five-game record (D1, L4), Celtic head into proceedings with nothing but pride left to play for. Condemned to a fourth bottom-place finish in their last five Champions League campaigns, the ‘Hoops’ can at least hope to sign off in style, knowing they’ve fared exceptionally well against Dutch opposition at Parkhead (W5, D1, L2). Despite clinging to the top of the Scottish Premiership, Brendan Rodgers’ side let a 1-0 lead slip in last weekend’s 2-1 defeat at Kilmarnock, pouring more stress on the ex-Leicester City manager. Halting Celtic’s dreadful run of 12 consecutive winless home matches in the Champions League proper (D3, L9) would be a perfect way to alleviate some pressure.

In the meantime, Feyenoord’s first foray into the Champions League group stages since 2017/18 showed plenty of early promise, yet they have to settle for switching to the Europa League knockout playoff round. After winning two of their opening three Group E games (L1), Arne Slot’s men have lost twice on the spin, losing crucial ground on second-placed Lazio. But motivation shouldn’t be in short supply as ‘De Stadionclub’ bid to post their first win on Scottish soil for the first time since 1983. Achieving that goal hinges on Feyenoord’s ability to overturn a disastrous run of nine consecutive away defeats in the Champions League, including qualifiers. Slot’s hopes of snapping a barren run stretching back to 2002 can find refuge in a 3-1 home triumph against Volendam at the weekend, which arrested a two-game losing streak in all competitions.