Stuart Armstrong sure Celtic can reach Champions League last 16

Stuart Armstrong firmly believes finishing second in Group B is still attainable as Celtic prepare to welcome Bayern Munich to Parkhead tomorrow.

Armstrong played the last half an hour of the 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock that saw Celtic equal their own century-old unbeaten record. The midfielder described Celtic as being in “a good moment” after beating nearest rivals Aberdeen 3-0 last midweek and then emulating Willie Maley’s 1917 team by extending their unbeaten run to 62 domestic games on Saturday.

Armstrong accepted Saturday’s performance was below the level expected but stressed confidence was high prior to facing the might of Bayern Munich. Despite already suffering heavy Champions League defeats against Bayern and Paris-Saint-German, the midfielder claimed Celtic have ambitions beyond ensuring they finish third and drop into the round of 32 stage of the Europa League.

“If we can win on Tuesday night then I don’t see why 
second place can’t be achievable at all,” he said. “We have to aim as high as possible,” Armstrong added. “Anything is possible. We do not want to put a label on where we want to end up. We take each game as it comes, as boring as it is. I know everyone hates it when players say that, but it is true. We do not want to think this is where we want to end up, we just need to try and take as many points as we can.”

Celtic currently stand on three points after an excellent away win against Anderlecht while Bayern, who lost 3-0 to PSG on match day two, are on six points. They defeated RB Leipzig 2-0 on Saturday to go top of the Bundesliga for the first time this season with a fifth successive win since Jupp Heynckes returned for a fourth spell as manager.

A much-changed Celtic, meanwhile, were held 1-1 at home by Kilmarnock. While they rested regulars such as Scott Brown and Dedryck 
Boyata, a hamstring injury sustained by winger Patrick Roberts means he will miss tomorrow’s clash.

But Bayern will also be without Thomas Muller and Franck Ribery and have doubts over Kingsley Coman, who missed the Leipzig match.

“I am sure they have very good replacements,” said Armstrong. “We don’t want to focus too much on them. Okay we will do our research and be focused, but we will focus on ourselves. I am sure, whoever they put out, they will be a very strong team.”