Celtic could hardly have warmed up for this match any better, with the Hoops thrashing bitter rivals Rangers 4-0 in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday to move five points clear of the Gers at the top of the table.
Ange Postecoglou’s team have been in brilliant form at the start of the 2022-23 campaign, winning all seven of their matches, six of which have been in the league, while they recorded a 4-1 victory over Ross County in the Scottish League Cup at the end of August.
Celtic will play in Group F of this season’s Champions League alongside Real Madrid, RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk, and while Los Blancos are the huge favourites to top the section, second looks open, and there is no question that Celtic Park will be bouncing on Tuesday for this glamorous fixture.
The Bhoys last played in the group stage of the Champions League in 2017-18, finishing third in Group B, before losing to Zenit St Petersburg in the last-32 stage of the Europa League.
Celtic last advanced through their group in the European Cup in 2012-13, finishing second in Group G, before going down 5-0 to Juventus in the round of 16, and it will be fascinating to see how the Scottish giants perform in this season’s competition.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, are the holders of the European Cup, lifting the trophy for the 14th time last season by beating Liverpool 1-0 in the final.
Los Blancos are also the reigning Spanish champions, and they already claimed some silverware this season, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 in the UEFA Super Cup towards the start of last month.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side have also made a 100% start to their 2022-23 La Liga campaign, beating Almeria, Celta Vigo, Espanyol and Real Betis to sit at the top of the table with 12 points.
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Real Madrid have four more matches before the international break, taking on Celtic and RB Leipzig in the Champions League, in addition to Mallorca and Atletico Madrid in the league, and they are then not back in action until the start of October against Osasuna.
Los Blancos took on Celtic in the quarter-finals of the 1979-80 European Cup, losing 2-0 in the first leg in Glasgow before recording a 3-0 victory in the reverse game in Madrid to advance to the semi-finals, where they were beaten by Hamburg
Celtic lost Kyogo Furuhashi in the early stages of the clash with Rangers due to a shoulder injury; the forward has been declared fit for this contest, but he could potentially start this game from the bench.
Carl Starfelt, meanwhile, suffered a knee problem in the same match, and he is definitely out of this game, which could allow Moritz Jenz and Georgios Giakoumakis to come into the XI.
