Celtic’s last big Champions League night hardly went according to plan, but the only solace is that it gets easier from there.

That really is the only solace, though, because it certainly doesn’t get much easier. Whilst playing Barcelona at the Camp Nou is the peak difficulty level of world football right now, hosting a Manchester City side who boast a 100% record in all competitions this season can’t be too far behind.

For Celtic, it may well be that their biggest games in this season’s Champions League come against Borussia Monchengladbach as they battle for a spot in the Europa League, but anything they can take off City and Barcelona will surely be a bonus.

The 7-0 thrashing at the Camp Nou in the last Champions League outing may not seem like the perfect blueprint for Wednesday night’s game, but Brendan Rodgers should stick with the back three formation (or back five, really) that he played in Spain. It may not have yielded the result, but if they can keep City at bay for longer than they kept Lionel Messi quiet, Pep Guardiola’s men may well find themselves in for a frustrating night: especially as they’ll be missing Kevin De Bruyne through injury.

It’s interesting, too, that City needed a late own goal from Paddy McNair to beat Sunderland in their opening Premier League fixture, and that was up against a similar formation to the one that Rodgers went with against Barcelona.

It’s possible he abandons the back five after what happened in Catalonia, but whilst it may not have borne fruit, it was probably the right tactical call: be brave Brendan and stick to your tactical guns!

Goalkeeper - Craig Gordon

Dorus de Vries may have been the Brendan Rodgers choice for the last few games, but Craig Gordon is surely the better shot stopper. De Vries might have been unlucky with the timing of Kilmarnock’s wonder goal last weekend - he probably couldn’t have stopped it, though conceding from that far out will always make people question your goalkeeping abilities.

Gordon, however, is a great shot stopper and may instil more confidence in his defenders - and they are both things that could be huge factors when it comes to playing a Pep Guardiola team in the Champions League.

Defence

If Rodgers sticks to his guns, a five-man defence could stifle City, but they’ll have to be more disciplined than they were at the Camp Nou where the first mistake led to a goal and after the missed penalty, heads dropped for the rest of the game.

Cristian Gamboa

He hasn’t really convinced yet in a Celtic shirt, but if Rodgers is going to play with a back three against City, as he did against Barcelona, he’ll probably need to call upon the wing-heeled attributes that Gamboa brings. If he’s disciplined defensively and makes the right decisions on the break, he’ll be an asset in the starting XI. The Costa Rican international is a good player who needs time to settle in Scotland: and a big European night at Parkhead is enough to inspire any player to greatness.

Mikael Lustig

Usually deployed as a full back, Lustig has the defensive presence to look very accomplished indeed on the right-hand side of a back three.

If he works well with Toure and Sviatchenko, Celtic will have a solid wall of defenders in front of their goalkeeper, and that will be tough for City to break down.

Kolo Toure

He’ll be determined to show his worth against a former club, but Kolo Toure will be worth more than that to Celtic in such a big European game.

Toure’s experience and leadership will have to come to the fore if the Hoops are to stifle Manchester City’s attacking brilliance.

Erik Sviatchenko

A solid choice who seems to be Brendan Rodgers’ choice. He’s forming a partnership with Kolo Toure, and although Celtic are winning games and improving, the fact that there’s only been one clean sheet so far this season will be a worry to Rodgers. If there was ever a time to put that right though….

Kieran Tierney

Although an outstanding performer in Brendan Rodgers’ preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, Kieran Tierney’s ability as an attacking full back could be key to Celtic against Manchester City.

The whole point of playing a back five is to allow the team to sit deep and stifle City’s attacking threat, but when you get the ball back, you need to keep it. And that’s where the wing-backs come in - they’ll need to make the right decisions to keep the ball and give the centre-backs a rest, whilst supporting the attack.

Midfield

It will be imperative that Celtic’s midfielders are not just there to defend against Manchester City. It may seem like a natural reaction after a thumping against Barcelona, but Celtic’s midfield has to be an attacking (or at least counter-attacking) threat against City.

It’s all well and good pressing with energy, but if you don’t keep hold of the ball when you get it, you’ll have to defend all game. If you do that, they’ll score sooner or later.

Scott Brown

If Celtic have Kolo Toure leading in defence, they’ll also have Scott Brown leading in the midfield. He’s a tough tackler and you know he’ll give 100% - against the likes of David Silva, though, that could make it a long night, especially if there’s a booking early doors.

Nir Bitton

The partnership with Scott Brown that’s grown up over the years will be crucial to Celtic stifling City’s creative midfield.

The silver lining is certainly the injury to Kevin de Bruyne, but Ilkay Gundogan will provide a very different type of test, and his European experience is huge.

Tom Rogic

In this sort of formation, you want someone who can link defence and attack. If Rodgers does go with a back three, he’ll need someone to be smart on the ball in an attacking sense when they get it.

As we saw in the first half at the Camp Nou, Celtic can pose a threat if they’re smart on the counter, and given his form in the win over Kilmarnock, why not trust him to be that link between Celtic’s packed defence and what will surely have to be a pacey attack.

Attack

Nominally, it should a two up front in this 5-3-2 formation, but it’s likely that the secondary striker will have to drop off and help the midfield. That’s not just a help defensively, however, it’s also a help in a counter-attacking sense. Having pace running from deep when Celtic do break means there’s always support to the ball carrier, and that means they can break in numbers.

Scott Sinclair

After his nightmare at Manchester City, Sinclair has a chance to rebuild his career at Celtic, and now he also has a chance to prove a point to his former employers.

And as we said about Cristian Gamboa, if he needed anything else to inspire and spur him on, the Celtic Park atmosphere on a European night will surely do just that.

Moussa Dembele

He’s the man who won the penalty against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, he’s the man who showed the most threat on the counter in that first half, but he’s also the man who - had he scored from the spot - would have made that game a very different one indeed.

Dembele is clearly a talent, as is Scott Sinclair, but they’ll both need to prove it against City this week if Celtic are to get something. Up front pretty much by himself for the whole game, it’ll probably be a thankless task for Dembele, but if he stays patient and alert, a chance could well come his way. Maybe, this time, he’ll take it!