Celtic back to their best, says Rodgers before Rosenborg & Aberdeen tests

Brendan Rodgers believes Celtic are recapturing the best form they have shown during his time as manager.

Rodgers' side lost two of their first six Premiership games but have won eight and drawn one of their past nine domestic games.

They visit Rosenborg in the Europa League on Thursday before taking on Aberdeen in Sunday's League Cup final.

"I feel now we're back to that level that we were at for a large part of my time here," said Rodgers.

"We've got two important games. Over the last couple of seasons, we've always had very important games in midweek and then gone into these semi-finals or finals having been really tested.

"Rosenborg will be a tough test for us, we expect that. It's not new to us, we've been out there over the last couple of seasons now. We know what to expect. We know they're a good side. Again, another champion up there that's in our group."

• McInnes seeks 'big performance' by Dons

• Griffiths returns after 'dark times'

• The rapid rise of Ryan Christie

Double treble-winning boss Rodgers, who is aiming to become the first manager to win seven successive Scottish domestic trophies since Walter Smith with Rangers in 1994, has been without captain Scott Brown in recent weeks.

"Scott's been training now with the squad," Rodgers said of the midfielder. "We'll just assess him for the remainder of the week and see what level he's at and take it from there."

Australia midfielder Tom Rogic missed Saturday's 3-0 win against Hamilton Academical following international duty but Rodgers said: "He'll be available for both games.

"It was just too much of a risk for him to play at the weekend. He looked fantastic in training this morning."