Celtic v Anderlecht: Key battles

Scott Brown will be asked to keep tabs on Anderlecht's midfield kingpin Sofiane Hanni. Picture: SNS Group

Jozo Simunovic v Henry Onyekuru

Injury problems have seen the Bosnian defender miss half of Celtic’s matches due to injury this season but it’s a measure of how highly manager Brendan Rodgers thinks of him that eight of his 15 appearances have come in European ties – and that he was rested for Saturday’s 5-1 win over Motherwell. Celtic were interested in signing Nigeria forward Onyekuru from KAS Eupen last summer but the 20-year-old went to Everton for £7m instead before immediately being sent to Anderlecht on loan. His eight goals make him their leading scorer.

Scott Brown v Sofiane Hanni

Henry Onyekuru will be Anderlecht's main threat up front. Picture: SNS Group

At 32, the skipper shows few signs of slowing up – tonight will be his 29th match for club and country this season. Celtic can’t offer the Belgians any encouragement, though, so Brown will need to be more switched on than he was in Paris three weeks ago.

Anderlecht captain Hanni, who scored his club’s only group-stage goal in the 2-1 defeat by Bayern Munich last month, insists that Celtic are not superior to his team. The Algeria midfielder is his side’s second-highest goalscorer this season.

James Forrest v Olivier Deschacht

Forrest, 26, is in the form of his career. His brace against Motherwell took his tally for the season to ten – a career best – and, with help from Rodgers and his coaching staff, there is finally an end product to his blistering pace and close control. His opponent is a one-club man who made his debut for Anderlecht when Forrest was ten years old and he’s now closing in on 600 games for them. Badly at fault when Patrick Roberts scored Celtic’s second in their 3-0 win in Belgium, the veteran will be desperate to atone for that.