Guardiola understudy has much to prove against Celtic

Europa League: Celtic v Sporting Braga

Venue: Celtic Park, Glasgow Date: Thursday, 2 October Kick-off: 17:45 BST

Coverage: Listen connected BBC Radio Scotland Extra & Sounds, unrecorded matter commentary connected nan BBC Sport website & app

Much for illustration Genk past week against Rangers, Braga get successful Glasgow successful somewhat beleaguered temper contempt an encouraging commencement to their Europa League campaign.

The matchday 1 triumph complete Feyenoord has not been capable to appease supporters who watched their broadside suffer 1-0 astatine location to lowly Nacional of Madeira connected Sunday to slump to seventh successful nan Liga Portugal array connected nan backmost of a five-game winless home run.

That led to disapproval of nan players' cognition from caller caput coach Carlos Vicens, who himself has had to strengthen instrumentality displeasure, astir precocious nan dreaded waving of nan achromatic handkerchiefs often seen successful Iberian stands erstwhile adversity strikes.

Pep Guardiola's erstwhile adjunct is uncovering life arsenic nan main man beautiful unforgiving arsenic a affirmative commencement to nan play has gradually gone downhill and he could do pinch a large consequence astatine Celtic Park.

Vicens' emergence owes overmuch to nan apprenticeship served astatine Manchester City, wherever nan Mallorcan worked his measurement from a activity acquisition domiciled to a first full-time position assisting pinch nan under-12s and 13s, yet impressing sufficiently arsenic under-18 coach to gain nan telephone from Guardiola successful 2021.

After 4 years moving nether arguably nan champion coach successful nan modern game, Vicens was keen to onslaught retired connected his ain and Braga, having parted institution pinch Carlos Carvalhal, came calling.

It was a tentative commencement nether nan caller boss, a 0-0 tie distant to Levski Sofia successful his opening crippled successful nan 2nd qualifying information of nan Europa League, followed by a constrictive extra-time triumph complete nan Bulgarians astatine home.

But a 4-1 aggregate triumph complete Cluj and 2 3-0 convention victories to commencement nan play seemed to augur good for Braga nether Vicens.

The play-off information was arsenic comfortable arsenic it could perchance person been against Celtic's erstwhile adversaries, Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar, but sandwiched successful betwixt 2 emphatic results came nan first signs of a stumble arsenic they drew astatine location to AVS (which remains nan bottommost club's only constituent of nan season).

Braga person not won successful nan 4 convention games since, losing some astatine home, and that has drawn nan ire of supporters.

Such is nan discourse successful which they travel to Celtic Park, wherever they mislaid connected their only erstwhile sojourn successful August 2010 connected Champions League qualifying duty, though Celtic's 2-1 second-leg triumph was not capable to overturn a 3-0 first-leg deficit.

A third-placed decorativeness successful that season's Champions League group shape paved nan measurement for their champion European run arsenic they dropped into nan Europa League and marched each nan measurement to nan final, only to beryllium beaten by Celtic's 2003 conquerors, Porto.

Their champion capacity since past was halted by Rangers astatine nan quarter-final shape successful 2022 en way to nan last themselves.

Last season, wins complete Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hoffenheim and Lazio were not capable to return them done to nan knockout shape arsenic they vanished 25th, agonisingly conscionable a extremity down Fenerbahce, who went connected to suffer to Rangers.

Interestingly, they picked up conscionable a constituent connected their travels (at Elfsborg), losing distant to Olympiacos, Roma and Union St Gilloise arsenic good arsenic astatine location to Bodo/Glimt.

Whether this season's squad is immoderate amended prepared to win remains to beryllium seen.

They spent large connected Spanish striker Pau Victor from Barcelona (nearly £10.5m) and young Ivory Coast midfielder Mario Dorgeles from Nordsjaelland (£9.6m), but Victor has yet to radiance and Dorgeles whitethorn miss nan game, having not featured successful nan past five.

The crippled will people nan return to Celtic of Gustaf Lagerbielke, nan centre-half who near for Portugal successful nan summer. He played conscionable 10 times nether Brendan Rodgers aft signing successful 2023 but is simply a virtual ever coming for his caller nine and will beryllium hoping to support his aged team-mates astatine bay erstwhile nan action originates connected Thursday evening.