Brendan Rodgers has named his Celtic team to take on Kairat Almaty in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League at the Ortalyk Stadion in Almaty this evening. It’s a winner takes all contest and the prize money at stake is a guaranteed £40m for the Hoops IF they can get past the Champions of Kazakhstan.
The tie is evenly matched at the moment after a goalless draw at Celtic Park last Wednesday night and Celtic need to make it third time lucky playing in Kazakhstan having lost on both previous visits.
The dressing room is set… 👊#KairatCeltic | #UCL | #CelticFC🍀 pic.twitter.com/nhJGGItRXM
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) August 26, 2025
Kasper Schmeichel will be looking at keeping a clean sheet this evening and has a strong back four in front of him. Anthony Ralston comes in for the injury Alistair Johnston at right-back while Kieran Tierney plays on the left of the Celtic defence with a centre-back pairing of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Liam Scales.
The Celtic captain Callum McGregor is joined in the middle of the park by Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren while the front three sees James Forrest and Yang on the wings and Daizen Maeda returning to his favoured position as centre-forward.
On the bench for Celtic this evening are Sinisalo, Doohan, Simpson- Pusey, Idah, McCowan, Shin, Osmand, Kenny, Engels, Bernardo Murray and Donovan
The Celtic manager is of course Brendan Rodgers.
Kick-off is at 5.45pm Celtic Park Time and the match is exclusively live in Britain and Ireland on Amazon Prime with the build-up to kick-off starting a 5.15pm.
An absolutely huge match for Celtic, one we simply must win. Let’s do it Bhoys!
Incidentally temperature at the stadium is a pleasant 23 degrees so there is no real issue with the heat for the Celtic players.
COYBIG!
📋 Team news for #KairatCeltic
Here’s how Celtic line up…
#UCL | #CelticFC🍀 pic.twitter.com/CUYRtSwcxf
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) August 26, 2025
Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter. Foreword by Danny McGrain. Published on Celtic Star Books on 5 September 2025. Click on image to pre-order.
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