Borussia Dortmund vs Celtic: Brendan Rodgers says Hoops ‘playing for the fans’ dreams’ in Champions League match | Football news

Brendan Rodgers says Celtic will “play for the supporters’ dreams” when they take on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

Celtic, who have failed to win on German soil in 14 previous attempts, head to Signal Iduna Park in good form after a 6-0 win over St Johnstone on Saturday made it 17 wins in a row.

They have scored 33 goals in nine games this season, including five against Slovan Bratislava in their Champions League opener.

They now go from debutants at this level to last season’s runners-up, but Rodgers just wants his players to do themselves justice and leave everything on the pitch.

“It wants to take our game to the next level. The way we’ve performed over the last six or seven months has only gone up and now we’re getting to this level,” Rodgers said at his pre-match press conference.

“We play for the dreams of the fans, the fans who have come here in their thousands, and we play for ourselves to enjoy this experience.

“It’s a beautiful arena (and the message is to) embrace it, cherish these big games and show where it takes us.

“If we’ve done that after the game, and we’ve given everything and we’re playing with the spirit that we’ve been playing and you don’t quite get the result, then as long as you’ve run and you’ve fought and you’ve played and you’ve pressed and you’ve attacked You can’t do more than that.

“The game is about layers and levels and for us I’m just interested in seeing us compete at this level.

“I’ve always said – whether it’s at home or away in this competition – it makes us a very, very difficult team to play against, with and without the ball.

“That’s what we want to be able to do. I’m not looking for perfection, I just want us to be very, very difficult to play against and give everything we have, and bring our game.”

Carter-Vickers misses trip to Dortmund

Cameron Carter-Vickers will miss the Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund.

The centre-back has missed Celtic’s last two games with a toe injury that has bothered him in recent weeks and has not been in the squad for Germany.

Fellow United States international Auston Trusty has featured in those matches against Falkirk and St Johnstone and looks set to get his first Champions League start at Signal Iduna Park.

Rodgers said: “Cam is unavailable. We’ll see how he goes next weekend, but he’s not here for this one.

“Obviously he is a top class player for us and he has missed a little bit of Champions League football. I think in his time he has unfortunately not been able to play five of the 12 games that the club has played.

“But we have other players. It’s always an opportunity for someone else to come in and hopefully we can get Cam back sooner rather than later.

“But we can’t think about it. We will rely on the collective. There is not one player who brings our results and how we have been this season. Of course he is a very important player, Cam, but for us it is important to a result it will be about the collective.”

Sahin: I’m a big fan of Kyogo

Dortmund manager Nuri Sahin stated that he was a big fan of Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi ahead of their Champions League encounter.

The 29-year-old has scored four goals in his last four games ahead of Tuesday’s encounter, including one in Celtic’s 5-1 win over Slovan Bratislava on matchday one.

When asked about Celtic’s main threats, Sahin said: “If you really want a name, I’m a big, big fan of your striker.

“Furuhashi is not a typical striker like we are used to, a big one. But he is very smart and I really like the way he moves off the ball and the timing of his runs. I see a very smart boy there tactically.”

Furuhashi scored twice in a 6-0 win over St Johnstone on Saturday and Sahin certainly does not underestimate the threat of his visitors from Glasgow.

Asked if Celtic are the underdogs who could pull off an upset, the 36-year-old said: “You’re talking about a team that hasn’t lost many games and hasn’t even lost a goal in the league. Very dominant in their first match in the Champions League.

“What can you say about Celtic? They are a very prestigious club with great talent in their squad and a fantastic coach.

“It will be a challenge for us, but at the same time a big challenge, a huge challenge, which they didn’t have this season when they played in our stadium. I’m really looking forward to it.”

“I don’t think it’s fair to call them underdogs.”