Things to discuss ahead of Red Star Belgrade v Celtic

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The Celtic Star

·23 septembre 2025

Things to discuss ahead of Red Star Belgrade v Celtic

Celtic face Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade tomorrow night in what will be the perfect litmus test to judge where this Celtic team are currently at in terms of getting up to full speed for the season that lies ahead…

There are a few things I’m keen to cover before things kick off tomorrow night, as Celtic start our journey in Uefa’s secondary competition.

Surprised to see we are favourites against Red Star Belgrade

I was extremely surprised earlier when I checked the betting for this match and the bookies have us favourites. It’s often said that bookmakers don’t often get it wrong but personally I think Celtic will have to show some serious improvement if they are to leave Serbia with all three points.

Vidéos OneFootball

Having done a bit of research into our opponents tomorrow evening, the only thing that leads me to believe why the bookies have made us favourites is due to the fact that Red Star failed to reach the Champions League after going out to Cypriot side Pafos.

That was certainly an upset but in all honesty Pafos are a better team than Kairat Almaty, the first round of fixtures in the Champions League proves that with Pafos battling to a good away draw against Olympiakos while Celtic’s conquerors Kairat got battered 4-1 in Lisbon against Sporting.

Red Star off to a flying start domestically

Domestically Red Star have certainly been more impressive than Celtic. They have won all seven of their league matches, notably scoring 30 goals and conceding just five. Not too shabby at all. They can also boast about an away win against their biggest rivals, beating Partizan Belgrade 2-1. As we all know Celtic failed to lay a glove on our city rivals, a team who have been nothing short of pathetic so far in the Scottish Premiership.

I would be delighted if we could collect all three points but if I’m totally honest I would be more than content with a draw. This team is still trying to find it’s groove and I think it will be a few weeks at least until we start to see this group of players fully gel.

Is Colby Donovan ready for such a big European night?

Colby Donovan celebrates after the Partick Thistle v Celtic match. Premier Sports League Cup tie. Sunday 21 September. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

With Tony Ralston back in training but still making his way back from injury it looks almost certain that Colby Donovan will start tomorrow night at right back. What a fantastic opportunity it will be for the young defender to prove that he’s got what it takes to make it at Celtic and I’m really hopeful he will take his chance but it could be a tough night for him, one that could make or break him.

Liam Scales at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock v Celtic, 14 September 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

The Celtic Star posted an article earlier where Liam Scales talked about not fearing what will be an intimidating atmosphere in Belgrade and attributes that confidence to experience he has accumulated over the past few seasons playing in similar arenas with both Celtic and Ireland. Colby Donovan obviously doesn’t have that experience to lean on so it really will be a baptism of fire if he gets the nod on Wednesday. Put in a good performance and we could have one of the very few success stories that has emanated from our academy in recent years.

Will our midfield be overwhelmed as predicted?

Reo Hatate at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock v Celtic, 14 September 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

I wrote an article recently questioning the logic behind playing both Hatate and Nygren in the same team, questioning does it leave our captain exposed in the Celtic midfield. Brendan Rodgers once again went with the pair against Partick Thistle and it all went well but with all due respect to Sunday’s opponents, Red Star Belgrade will be a whole different kettle of fish. Most expect our manager to go with the same midfield again and it will be interesting to see what unfolds.

Benjamin Nygren at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock v Celtic, 14 September 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Personally I feel like it will be a mistake to go with two players who excel more in an attacking sense than defensively and I can see our midfield getting overrun. As we saw against Atalanta last season, in games such as this against good opponents in an intimidating setting it’s all about being patient, about putting the work in and shutting the opposition down and hopefully trying to nick something on the break.

Now Red Star definitely don’t have the same class as Atalanta did but they will still pose a huge threat and are certainly an attack minded team. Some will say this tie will be similar to our away trip to Zagreb but I would argue that Red Star are perhaps a bigger threat offensively than Dinamo were.

Colby Donovan, Callum McGregor and Brendan Rodgers all smiles after the match. Partick Thistle v Celtic. Premier Sports League Cup. Sunday 21 September. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

I’m hugely looking forward to tomorrow night’s game. Obviously it doesn’t have that buzz of excitement that surrounds Champions League matches but as I said earlier, it will certainly show where we are at this season.

A win, draw or even a good solid performance will breed confidence amongst both players and fans while a defeat will see the anger at this summer’s inactivity in the transfer market come to the fore once more. A truly pivotal game which could set the tone for the season to come. Let’s hope we get this Europa League campaign off to a good start.

Conall McGinty

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