Rodgers must unleash Celtic star who could become their new Tony Watt

Celtic were left frustrated in the 2023/24 campaign after they were knocked out of the Champions League before they won a match in the group stage.

The Hoops won one of their six matches in the group, with that victory coming against Feyenoord in the last game, and were dumped out of the competition before the knockout phase.

This time around, in the new-look format, Celtic have qualified past the league phase and they are now set to face off against Bayern Munich at Parkhead in the first-leg of the play-off round.

The Scottish Premiership leaders, who have already beaten Bundesliga side RB Leipzig 3-1 in Glasgow, will need a big result to take back to Bavaria for the second-leg in Germany next week.

Celtic are no strangers to a big night under the lights in Europe and they will need another one of them this evening when they welcome Vincent Kompany’s side to Parkhead.

One of their most famous wins in the Champions League came against a Lionel Messi-led Barcelona team back in November 2012 during the group stage.

Tony Watt’s heroics against Barcelona

The Hoops welcomed the Spanish giants to Glasgow and produced a sensational performance to come away with all three points, as they beat the LaLiga side 2-1 on the night.

Barcelona registered a whopping 24 shots, 14 of which were on target, but they only scored one goal as Fraser Forster put on a mammoth showing between the sticks – one so good that it led to Messi describing him as “not human”.

Celtic took the lead through Victor Wanyama in the first half when he met Charlie Mulgrew’s deep corner to head in at the back post to make it 1-0.

The three points were sealed, however, thanks to the heroics of Tony Watt, who scored the second goal of the game to give the Hoops breathing space, which they ended up needing when Lionel Messi pulled one back in stoppage time.

Forster sent a kick long down the middle of the pitch, that was completely missed by Xavi, and sent Watt, who anticipated the mistake, through on goal to rattle a brilliant finish into the far bottom corner.

It ended up being his only Champions League goal for Celtic – what a way to do it – and it is one that supporters may not forget for a very long time.

There is now an opportunity for another player to etch their name into Celtic folklore by being the player to score the winning goal against Bayern Munich under the lights at Parkhead in the Champions League tonight.

Brendan Rodgers, now, has decisions to make in regards to who is going to line up as part of the front three from the start, after the Hoops beat Raith Rovers 5-0 in the SFA Cup in their last outing.

The Celtic forwards who could miss out against Bayern Munich

South Korean forward Hyun-jun Yang was handed a start against the Championship side on Saturday in the cup and caught the eye with an impressive performance on the left flank.

The 22-year-old ace assisted two of the five goals, teeing up Daizen Maeda and Luke McCowan for goals, and got himself on the scoresheet with a close-range finish.

However, Yang has failed to register a goal or an assist in four outings in the Champions League this season, and has also produced just one goal and zero assists in 14 appearances in the Scottish Premiership for the Hoops.

This does not suggest that Rodgers should be making the call to keep the right-footed whiz in the starting line-up, but there could be a tougher call to make with Jota.

The Portuguese forward returned to the club in January, signing permanently from Rennes, and has contributed with one goal and one assist in three matches so far.

However, Daizen Maeda and Nicolas Kuhn have been in terrific form for the Scottish giants on the flanks this season, which could keep Jota out of the XI for this match.

As you can see in the table above, both wingers have shown that they can make an impact in the final third in the Champions League this term, which is why they should start out wide this evening.

This means that Rodgers should ditch Yang and keep Jota on the bench, moving Maeda back out wide, and that would free up the number nine position for Adam Idah to be unleashed.

Why Adam Idah could be the new Tony Watt

The Celtic boss must unleash the Ireland international from the start against Bayern tonight because he has proven, on several occasions, that he has the ability and the mentality to step up when Celtic need him.

Last season, Idah scored two goals, including a stoppage-time penalty, in a 2-1 win over Hibernian on his full debut for the club. Shortly after that, the Irishman came off the bench at 1-0 down away at Motherwell and scored two goals to turn the game around to put his side in front.

His most memorable moment from his loan spell, though, came when he scored the winning goal against Rangers in the SFA Cup final at Hampden Park.

Idah, who was once hailed as “incredible” by Rodgers, then signed for the Scottish giants on a permanent deal from Norwich City last summer, and the sale of Kyogo Furuhashi to Rennes in January has finally made him the first-choice number nine for the Hoops.

Shortly after the Japanese forward’s departure, the 24-year-old marksman showcased both his quality and his mental fortitude in the 4-2 defeat to Aston Villa.

Celtic may have gone on to lose the game but they still managed to claw themselves back to 2-2 after being 2-0 down after just five minutes away from home in the Champions League, thanks to a quickfire double from the ex-Canaries ace.

Idah has shown, time and again, over the past year or so that he can be a clutch player who scores important goals at important times for Celtic, just as Watt did in that famous win over Barcelona.

Therefore, Rodgers must unleash the 6 foot 3 centre-forward from the start in this game against Bayern tonight, as he could be a difference-maker at Parkhead.