Brendan Rodgers: We're looking forward to latest Europa League test | OneFootball

Matchday Two in the league phase of the UEFA Europa League is almost upon us, with Celtic hosting for the first time in this season’s tournament as SC Braga arrive to take part in Thursday’s early-evening action.

Last week Celtic came home with a well-earned point after taking on Crvena Zvedza in Serbia, while Braga welcomed Dutch outfit, Feyenoord to Portugal and earned a 1-0 win on the night.

So Brendan Rodgers knows the type of game the Hoops will face tomorrow night under the lights at Celtic Park.

And when asked what he expected from Braga, the Celtic manager said: “They're a team that have started the competition with a good victory against Feyenoord, and like most Portuguese teams, they are very well-organised and will play, we think, 3-4-3.

“They're maybe not in their best form domestically, but it’s irrelevant. It’s a cup competition and their last result demonstrated that.

“It’s a team of good players, good young manager and it’ll be a good test for us.

“We had a good result and second-half performance last week, and we can take that into this game at home. We want to be strong in particular at home.

“Of course you need to have strength and resilience, which we’ve shown all season in all the competitions, but we want to do well in our home games for sure.”

The most recent home game, was against Hibernian at the weekend when Celtic dominated the match without being able to convert a good performance into goals. Brendan Rodgers is looking for his side to rectify that on Thursday night.

He added: “The ball speed was good, creativity was good. In terms of my baseline philosophy, it was there - the speed in the game was good, the creativity was there, the chances were there.

“We just need to find that ruthlessness, and that just comes with new players coming into the system, into the structure and understanding how we work specifically to break down certain defences.”

If that comes to fruition in this game, then that will register as Celtic’s first win, and so early in the tournament, its importance moves up a level.

The manager said: “I do think it’s important, it can set the tone for the rest of the competition.

“We were that last year in Europe and we want to be likewise this year.”

The Celts showed their strength last week, never mind last season, and were unfortunate not to return with more than the one point gained, but the Belgrade belief will instil more confidence in the side because of their performance

Brendan Rodgers said: “I also think the disappointment of not winning the game, because we felt that we could have won the game.

“So we’re not just happy to take the point in general. We played against a team that were doing very well and had seven straight victories in their domestic league which gives them confidence and they’ve got some very good players.

“But we went there and challenged that, and felt with the second-half performance we could have done even more in the game.

“But like we’ve been all season, we have a strong foundation defensively and if we bring that to tomorrow night’s game and continue to work and look to get the goals to match some of the approach play, then that will give us even more confidence.”

Watch the manager's full press conference:

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Fixtures

Celtic Vs. Sporting Braga - Thu, Oct 2nd 2025, 17:45