Celtic

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Hibernian have captain Joe Newell and defender Marvin Ekpiteta available for the first time this year but Alasana Manneh is suspended, on-loan Kwon Hyeok-kyu cannot play against his parent club and Dylan Levitt is a doubt after missing the draw at St Mirren, Elie Youan (foot) is still out.

Celtic have no fresh injuries. James Forrest is back in training after a foot injury but not ready to play while Paulo Bernardo (ankle) remains out.

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Brendan Rodgers says it wasn't difficult to pick his players up after their late Champions League heartbreak against Bayern Munich, with a post-match beer helping the players in the immediate aftermath of the aggregate defeat.

Alphonso Davies' 95th-minute strike denied Celtic the opportunity to take the German giants to extra-time in their play-off tie.

However, the Celtic boss says the way his players responded to the 1-1 draw in Germany was evidence of how far they have come in the competition.

"Not really," he said when asked if it was a challenge to find the right way to pick the players up following the disappointment.

"So it just showed you the mentality and the resilience and the grit that this team have."

Celtic stayed the evening in Germany, and Rodgers says the opportunity to "reflect and relax" was important in the wake of such an intense match.

"They overcame that, recovered from the setback and then pushed on and we went back to the hotel, we had a beer and then got back to training the next day," the Northern Irishman said.

"Don't worry, it wasn't a typical Scottish night. It was a nice relaxed beer and wine and then we stayed overnight, trained the next day and got ready for Hibs.

"It's very important that you can just reflect a little bit and relax and think about the moments within the game and the performance but very quickly you have to move on."

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Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has been speaking to the media before the Scottish Premiership match against Hibs this weekend.

Here are the key points from his press conference:

• He says their Champions League campaign was "full of improvement" and thinks the standards are now set for "the next steps going forward," with tomorrow's game the first step on that journey.

• Their performance was great for Celtic and "great for Scotland as well" in terms of showing they can be competitive at that level.

• He says the club have reflected on their performance in the Allianz Arena but now they "draw a line under that", look to push on and finish "what can be an absolutely brilliant campaign".

• He has "not really had any conversation around" extending his current deal, with 18 months left on his contract, adding what's right for the club is more important than the individual.

• Post-Bayern Munich the players regrouped at the hotel, had a drink together, and got back to training the next day to prepare for Hibs. Rodgers says it's important to have moments where you can reflect.

• After a tough 95-minute game midweek, he says: "The players are in a great place physically," and regardless of the eleven starters his side will look "to impose our style on the game".

• Rodgers praised the "excellent" Arne Engels - "I think he's been improving every week he's been here".

• On Hibs, he says he knows they will be "high in confidence" after they "picked up over the last few months". He is "delighted" for David Gray and pleased he was given time to turn things around at Easter Road.

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Former Celtic goalkeeper and 1970 European Cup finalist, Evan Williams, has died at the age of 81.

The shot-stopper won four league titles and two Scottish Cups during his five-year spell at the club, and started in goal in Celtic's European Cup final defeat by Feyenoord.

He made 148 appearances for Celtic after signing from Wolves in 1969, and played for Clyde and Stranraer after leaving the club in 1974.

In a statement, Celtic said: "In his later years and after his retirement from football, Evan was a regular at Celtic Park on matchdays and he will be greatly missed by everyone around the club.

"The thoughts and prayers of everyone at Celtic are with Evan's friends and family at this sad time."

Clive Lindsay
BBC Sport Scotland

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Two sides go head to head at Easter Road who currently are making their rivals green with envy.

Celtic, of course, earned the plaudits for going toe-to-toe with Bayern until an unfortunate deflection handed the Bundesliga leaders a Champions League aggregate win deep into stoppage time in Munich on Tuesday.

Hibs, meanwhile, are on a 12-game unbeaten run and have not conceded a goal in their latest three outings.

However, Celtic were the last team to beat David Gray's side - 3-0 in Glasgow in December - their fifth victory in a row over the Leith outfit since a goalless draw at Easter Road in October 2023.

That was their third victory over Hibs this season with an aggregate score of 8-1.

Indeed, Hibs have beaten Celtic just once in their latest 24 meetings, their most recent win coming in May 2023 - a 4-2 success at Easter Road under Lee Johnson.

In addition to their fine Champions League run, Brendan Rodgers' side have won three in a row in the Premiership with an aggregate of 12-1 to maintain their 13-point lead at the top of the table.

Hibs' improved form, though, has lifted them into fifth, now just three points behind Dundee United - and they will have renewed belief that they can follow in the footsteps of Aston Villa and Bayern, the only two sides to have beaten Celtic in 13 outings.

Read the rest of the weekend's Premiership picks.

Celtic centre-half Gustaf Lagerbielke has hinted he wants to turn his loan move to Twente Enschede into a permanent one after the 24-year-old revealed he barely has any contact with his parent club. (Scottish Sun), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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• Hibernian have won just one of their last 24 meetings with Celtic across all competitions (D7 L16), a 4-2 league win in May 2023 under Lee Johnson.

• Celtic have won both of their last two league visits to Hibernian, this after only winning two of their previous 12 away league games against Hibs beforehand (D7 L3).

• Hibernian are unbeaten in 10 league games (W6 D4), the longest ongoing run in this season's Scottish Premiership – although their last defeat was to Celtic in December (0-3). Hibs last went longer without losing in the competition in May 2018 under Neil Lennon (12 games).

• Celtic have won six of their last seven league games (D1), including each of their last three in a row by an aggregate score of 12-1, scoring at least three goals each time. They last won more Scottish Premiership matches in a row while scoring 3+ goals in each in March 2023 under Ange Postecoglou (run of 6).

• After his goal against Dundee United last time out, Celtic's Callum McGregor now has 49 goals and 49 assists in the Scottish Premiership. Since the competition's rebrand in 2013, only two players – James Tavernier (83 goals, 79 assists) and James Forrest (58 goals, 55 assists) – have reached both 50+ goals and 50+ assists in the division.

Newcastle United scouts have been keeping an eye on the progress of Celtic winger Nicolas Kuhn ahead of a possible summer bid, but there are alternative options ahead of the 25-year-old on their list of targets. (Football Insider), external

Read Thursday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Alasdair Lamont
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

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Celtic proved they didn't just use "buzzwords" after their bruising defeat in Dortmund with an improved, "composed and mature" performance against Bayern Munich, says Alastair Johnston.

The right-back looked back to the 7-1 defeat in Dortmund as a point of comparison and agreed it was a pivotal point in the team's European education.

"It's funny, after the match you probably heard a lot of cliche things in terms of 'we've got to learn from this' and all that. It is just clichés if you're just saying it," the Canada international said after Celtic drew on the night in Munich.

"But for us it wasn't buzzwords. No, seriously, we're going to look at this and we're going to break down the video and realise, 'what did we do wrong, what did we need to do better?'

"And understand that Europe, especially away, it's not going to be like a domestic game. You can't always be so open and expect to get results against these top teams.

"I think we matured in terms of our approach. We weren't so rash, we weren't so emotional in certain moments feeling like we've been under the cosh for five minutes here.

"I thought we were very stable mentally, we showed such a composure and maturity in terms of defending.

"That's our tenth match in the Champions League this year. So we've learned a lot and hopefully we can continue that into next year."

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Former Celtic midfielder and Champions League winner Paul Lambert joined Lunchtime Live to discuss his old side's fortunes in Europe. Here's what he had to say on...

Celtic's reputation: "It's always been high. Everybody knows any team that comes to Glasgow to play them is always going to get a right tough game.

"It's very difficult to win at Parkhead. You have seen teams, massive names, come to Parkhead and get turned over.

"Celtic's reputation in Europe, the way the way I see it, has never been diminished really because of what they've done in 1967 and that will always go down as the greatest Celtic team. The Lions, that's the pinnacle of it.

"I don't think the European record through the years has been really bad. It's been really good."

The remainder of the season: "The league's already there, that's for sure. If you're being realistic, 99% of the population will say the exact same.

"The Scottish Cup... they can only lose that really, because they are the strongest and best team in in Scotland by a distance, not just by a margin, by an absolute distance. I think they'll get the treble and it'll be thoroughly deserved."

What Rodgers has learned: "The Dortmund game gave them a jolt of what can happen if you really try to go gung-ho. What Brendan has done is shore up a little bit, you saw it in that Atalanta game in which he got a really good point.

"You have to in Europe, because you can't play the type of football you play in Scotland. Europe's an impossibility because you will get picked off.

"Bayern Munich, one of the top ones and one of the ones that could go a long way to win it. But I'm pretty sure Brendan has learned a lot from that Dortmund game."

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Former Celtic midfielder Peter Grant believes it is "all about maintaining it now" following a Champions League performance that he described as "remarkable".

Brendan Rodgers side were "excellent" in their draw with Bayern Munich, in Grant's view, and surpassed his expectations.

"I don't mean that disrespectfully," he said of Celtic who drew 1-1 with the German giants, but exited the competition due to the aggregate score.

"Because, if you look at Bayern in the first leg, I thought they were excellent with the ball and, deep down, you thought, if Bayern played as well as they did in their first leg, there was a possibility of a tough night."

Grant, who made 483 appearances for Celtic, thinks the performance should give the players "great confidence" going into next season's Champions League, with the new format of four home and four away league phase games suiting the Glasgow side.

However, he pointed out: "When you're playing so well, people are always interested in your players, so there's always a change of players.

"Celtic will have to spend big, they'll spend it big on younger players, so they'll have to learn again and perform. Bayern paid £100m near enough on Harry Kane - Celtic are never going to pay that for anyone and that will be the crucial difference at times."

We asked for your views on Celtic's heartbreaking 1-1 draw against Bayern Munich, which resulted in their exit from the Champions League.

Here's what some of you said...

Thomas: It's levels ahead of where we were in Europe, even compared to last season, but ultimately still not good enough. I know everyone is speaking about pride, but at the end of the day, we had more than enough chances to win the game and conceded a sloppy late goal. Whether we can go further next year is the big question.

Gordon: Superb performance and one that will leave fans excited for what next season in Europe might bring. Credit to Brendan Rodgers for the selection and the players for a brave approach. No one is happy to be knocked out of the tournament, but you have to take your wins and getting to this stage of the Champions League is definitely a win for Celtic. Now focus on the treble!

Richard: What a performance from Celtic, so proud of them. If we can keep our squad together and sign a couple of quality players in the next window, we can go further in Europe next season.

Torsten: Terrific performance with a heartbreak right at the death. Despite this cruel ending, I'm just so proud. We played one of the big guns in Europe away from home - and we went at them. To go absolutely mental after Nicolas Kuhn put us ahead in a block packed with Bayern supporters in total disbelief - moments one will never forget.

Patrick: We really brought the game to Bayern. They had more possession but we had chances all over, we just needed to convert some of them. We know we can compete at this level so this should be the minimum expectation in future. Great campaign that the boys can all be proud of.

Graham: Absolute pride in my team. I thought every single player in green ran their heart out, but also played with a confidence I haven't seen in a Celtic team away from home in Europe in a long time. I'm hoping this is just the start of us building a consistently competitive champions league team.

Paul: A performance against Bayern that I didn't believe this team were capable of. A sign that we've developed massively since Dortmund match. Disciplined, intensity when required, and controlled for the most part. Credit to coaching staff.

David: It was devastating, but also a moment of pride. If we are all honest, I believe our goal was to get out of the league phase and into the knockout stages and anything after that was a bonus and a no lose situation... We showed we sit at the top table. The team did us proud.

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Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel told Prime Video Sport: "Frustration, disappointment, I thought it was a heroic performance, very brave.

"Football is a cruel game sometimes, that's the emotion at the moment.

"I was loving every minute so another 30 would have been amazing.

"There's just so much disappointment but in the next few days when we take a step back and analyse the fact we're away to Bayern and are disappointed in drawing, I think that says a lot when you think of where we started the competition to where we got to.

"It will stand us in good stead for the future.

"We've got a lot of young players in there that haven't played at this stage, this level, with this kind of pressure so it's a tough learning curve but in the long run it will probably be a good one."

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Former Celtic manager Martin O'Neill: "This is not biased, but I thought they were absolutely fantastic from start to finish.

"Celtic should have at least gone through to extra time if nothing else. They were magnificent.

"They will always think they have a chance at Celtic Park regardless of who they are playing, but I think the away performance tonight I think will become really significant in the days ahead, I think they'll feel we can actually do something about it.

"This was Bayern Munich who are at the top of the Bundesliga, it was a brilliant effort really."

Former Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonnar: "Rodgers will look to strengthen again, there's no doubt about that.

"The players understand the plan and how to implement it. They trust the manager and how he wants to play. It's his job to keep them improving and if they add quality, the future is very bright."

Former Scotland international James McFadden: "Celtic suffered out there and they proved people wrong.

"People watching that will go 'Celtic are a really good side'. Everyone involved will be gutted at the minute because they will feel they could have won this tie.

"That tells you how far they have come."

Former Scotland international Pat Nevin: "The reality is that as the game went on Celtic got more and more tired and Bayern were creating more and more chances. They deserved the chance to go to extra time.

"The Celtic players can be proud of themselves tonight. Brendon Rodgers can be proud too. He didn't set out to just defend. He set out to go toe to toe.

"That sucker punch at the end with 30 seconds to go - knockout blow.

"The campaign started out horrifyingly for Celtic but it has ended up with them walking away with great pride having learned a lot.

"They are a better team than they were at the start of the competition. And they can go on from this.

"They need a little bit more strength in depth when you come to moments like this. The expectation is that Brendan Rodgers is going to build from here."

Alasdair Lamont
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator in Munich

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Alastair Johnston insisted pride rather than disappointment was the overriding emotion in the wake of the club's Champions League exit to Bayern Munich.

Alphonso Davies' 94th-minute equaliser sent Bayern through on aggregate after a heroic Celtic performance almost brought them a first win on German soil and a shot at extra-time to progress to the last 16.

"There's no regrets at all," the Celtic right-back said. "It's an unbelievable team and I'm unbelievably proud of my group.

"I think that every single man who stepped out there can leave with their head held high and that's something that's really important for us.

"Disappointment is definitely not the word that comes to my mind. I mean, this is one of the best teams in the world.

"Coming to their place, where they've got an unbelievable home record, not only in the league, but in Europe as well.

"For us to show up like that, I think it will have a lot of respect not only in Europe, but around the globe.

"We held our own. They needed a last kick of the game equaliser to get through against us. So that's obviously the part that hurts.

"I think we showed we belong at this level and I know that's something the gaffer really had thought long and hard about when he wanted to come back to the club.

"It was a big thing for him that he wanted to take that next step in Europe and I think we showed that."

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• Bayern have reached the Champions League last 16 in each of the last 17 seasons and in each of their last 21 appearances in the competition.

• They remain unbeaten against Scottish opposition at home in major European competition (P11 W7 D4). Celtic have failed to win any of their 16 away games against German opposition (D4 L12 – including East Germany).

• Kuhn became the first German to score against Bayern Munich in the Champions League since Mergim Berisha for Red Bull Salzburg in November 2020. He is the first to do so in the knockout stages since Lukas Podolski for Arsenal in March 2014 (last 16).

• Bayern have made more errors leading to opposition shots than any other team in the Champions League this season (13 – 5 in the build-up to goals conceded).

• Celtic (28y 40d) named their oldest starting XI for a Champions League game since a 1-0 win against Manchester United at Celtic Park in November 2006 (28y 272d).

Celtic missed out on an extra £9.3m following their Champions League play-off defeat by Bayern Munich but secured £26.23m from this season's competition. (Daily Record), external

Celtic have made £38.22m from this season's Champions League even before taking into account ticket sales and other commercial business. (The Herald), external

South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo described his visit to Europe very beneficial after meeting Celtic winger Yang Hyun-jun and Hibernian midfielder Kwon Hyuk-gyu, who is yet to make a full debut. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish Gossip in full.