
Champions League: Build up as Celtic host Kazakh side Kairat in play-off round
Date: 19:17 BST
Title: Rodgers hits game 800
Content: Celtic v Kairat (20:00)
Tonight's game is Brendan Rodgers' 800th as a manager.
He's managed more matches at Celtic than at any other club - 279 to be exact.
Rodgers has won four Scottish Premiership titles, three Scottish Cups, and four League Cups across two spells at Parkhead.
He also has a win percentage of 69.5%. Not bad, is it? His current contract expires at the end of this season...
Update:
Date: 19:14 BST
Title: Who is Kairat's Chelsea-bound teenager?
Content: Celtic v Kairat (20:00)
Liam McLeodBBC Sport Scotland
Dastan Satpaev. The teenager has a big-money transfer to Stamford Bridge to look forward to but is too young to make that move this year as per Fifa rules.
He celebrated his 17th birthday last week and will head to west London as soon as he turns 18 next August.
Satpaev has 22 goal involvements for Kairat this season, scoring 13 of them himself, including three in their qualifiers.
Despite his 5ft 5in frame, he has a massive future on his hands and is already a full Kazakhstan international.
Belarus' Valeriy Gromyko is another important player and is likely to be involved against Scotland in the upcoming World Cup qualifier in Hungary.
Update:
Date: 19:11 BST
Title: Live and direct
Content: Celtic v Kairat (20:00)
BBC Radio Scotland Extra
The Sportsound team will provide live match commentary from Celtic Park.
Build-up is already under way on BBC Radio Scotland Extra.
Listen here, on Sounds or do it the old fashioned way.
Update:
Date: 19:08 BST
Title: The stakes couldn't be much higher
Content: Celtic v Kairat (20:00)
Kheredine IdessaneBBC Scotland at Celtic Park
The most important home game of Celtic's season? Almost certainly, yes.
Domestic dominance is one thing, but the club, and for sure the manager, have made no bones about the desire to be properly competitive in Europe.
They ticked that box last season and then some, coming within a minute or so of beating Bayern Munich away.
Since that match in the Allianz, there has been a bit of a drop-off from the Scottish champions, with players leaving and those who stayed hitting a bit of a plateau.
How to kick on again? Qualify for the Champions League, unlock another bounty in excess of £40m and spend the last few days of the transfer window doing the deals Brendan Rodgers had hoped would already be completed by now.
A poor result tonight could scupper all that, hence the importance of this game to Celtic's entire season.
I would expect the current crop of players to hear the Champions League anthem, remember the levels the side reached against Bayern, RB Leipzig and Slovan Bratislava, and give themselves at least a two-goal cushion for next week's arduous trip to Almaty.
A bigger advantage than that may even allow the transfer wheeling and dealing to begin.
Update:
Date: 19:05 BST
Title: Idah starts amid six Celtic changes
Content: Celtic v Kairat (20:00)
Brendan Rodgers makes six changes to the Celtic team that started Friday's 4-1 League Cup win over Falkirk.
Kasper Schmeichel is back in goal, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Liam Scales start at centre-back, Benjamin Nygren is in midfield with Reo Hatate, and Adam Idah is in at centre-forward.
Viljami Sinisalo, Auston Trusty, Dane Murray, Luke McCowan, Arne Engels and Johnny Kenny all drop to the bench.
For the visitors, Chelsea-bound teenager Dastan Satpaev starts.
Update:
Date: 19:02 BST
Title: LINE-UPS at Celtic Park
Content: Celtic v Kairat (20:00)
Celtic: Schmeichel, Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Tierney, McGregor, Hatate, Nygren, Forrest, Maeda, Idah.
Substitutes: Sinisalo, Simpson-Pusey, Trusty, Yang, McCowan, Yamada, Osmand, Kenny, Engels, Murray, Ralston.
Kairat: Zarutskiy, Jorginho, Satpaev, Martynovich, Arad, Glazer, Tapalov, Mrynskiy, Edmilson, Gromkyo, Sorokin.
Substitutes: Anarbekov, Kalmurza, Kassabulat, Kurgin, Sadybekov, Baibek, Shirobokov, Stanojev, Gadrani, Bagdat, Ricardinho.
Update:
Date: 19:00 BST
Title: A £40m play-off
Content: Celtic v Kairat (20:00)
A place at club football's top table is at stake. Oh, and about 40 million quid.
All the (lack of) transfer noise needs to be parked as Celtic head into a crucial two-legged encounter with Kazakhstan champions Kairat.
That said, all that noise will come back louder than ever if Brendan Rodgers' side fall at this hurdle. That's potentially for another day.
For now, let's get straight to the team news at Celtic Park...

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In Brendan Rodgers' 800th match as a manager, there was no traditional early onslaught by the Hoops as the accomplished Kazakh side more than matched their hosts. However, with Yang Hyun-jun on for Adam Idah and Daizen Maeda moving to centre forward at the start of the second half, Celtic stepped up the pace and piled on the pressure in the later stages but could not find a way through despite 10 added minutes. All to play for in Kazakhstan.#CelticKairat | #UCL | #CelticFC🍀 — Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) August 20, 2025 After Saturday's home William Hill Premiership game against Livingston, Celtic will get ready for the return leg in Kazakhstan next Tuesday night which involves a 7,000-mile round trip knowing qualification requires perhaps more work than many anticipated. Much of the build-up to the game was centred on if and when Rodgers would add to his squad for the European campaign. There were no late signings, but Rodgers made six changes to his side, with Kasper Schmeichel, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Liam Scales, Reo Hatate, Benjamin Nygren and Idah returning and Viljami Sinisalo, Dane Murray, Auston Trusty, Arne Engels, Luke McCowan and Johnny Kenny dropping out. Rafael Urazbakhtin stressed his side were playing for the glory of Kazakhstan and the Kairat head coach was pinning a lot of hopes on 17-year-old Chelsea-bound Dastan Satpayev. The visitors settled early and in the 11th minute captain Aleksandr Martynovich had the ball in the Hoops net from close range but was offside. With Satpayev influential, Kairat attacked fluidly and at pace on the counter, dampening the mood of the expectant home support. In the 32nd minute, Celtic defender Alastair Johnston pulled up with what looked like a hamstring injury as he backtracked and was taken from the field on a stretcher, replaced by Anthony Ralston. Moments later, Kairat goalkeeper Alexandr Zarutskiy saved from Maeda when Celtic at last got through, but at the other end Ofri Arad's powerful drive flew just wide of Schmeichel's post. Yang for Idah for the start of the second period and Maeda moving central was no surprise and within a minute Yang set up James Forrest, whose shot was touched onto a post and then gathered by Zarutskiy. In the 58th minute, after some sloppiness by Carter-Vickers in the Hoops defence, Brazilian striker Edmilson tried a speculative shot from 40 yards and it landed on the roof of Schmeichel's goal. Celtic's corner count mounted but to no avail and Hoops fans – perhaps also frustrated by a lack of transfer activity – began singing 'sack the board' as the game moved into the final quarter. In the 75th minute, after sustaining an injury defending a corner, Zarutskiy had to be replaced by understudy Temirlan Anarbekov and he had his head bandaged and covered by a protective cap after taking a knock. The visitors, though, were wasting time at every opportunity and 10 added minutes gave Celtic scope, but Maeda spurned a gift when he ran through alone and could only manage a tame shot which was easily saved by Anarbekov and there were boos at the end from irate supporters.

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Much of the build-up to the game at Parkhead was centred on if and when Rodgers would further bolster his squad for the European campaign, but there were no late signings. It was a frustrating night for the Hoops and in the second half fans, also frustrated by a lack of transfer activity, chanted 'sack the board' and aimed their ire at chief executive Michael Nicholson and chairman Peter Lawwell, while there were further chants and boos after the game. Rodgers said: 'I think it was pretty clear. You didn't need to look into the future too far. 'You know these games are tough games and you want to have your best players in and have players in as quick as you can to tackle these sorts of situations. 'But listen, it is what it is and I just have to accept where it's at and we'll now get ready for Saturday and then the long haul on Sunday. 'Then we'll try and get through on Tuesday.' Asked about the fans' reaction, the Northern Irishman said: 'I do know that, over many years, 'sack the board' normally means 'sack the manager'. 'It's normally the manager that goes when that starts to be sung. 'I can only really look at the players we have here, and the performance. 'We've known for a long time what we've needed as a squad, so I don't want to go into that. 'Of course, at the end of the game, we're having to shuffle things about to try and make it work. 'The players are out of position, but the players' endeavour in the second half was really good. 'But at this level, it's more than that. So hopefully we can show that. 'The boys are a great bunch of lads, they're really honest. They've started the season well. 'Defensively, they've been strong. But tonight, offensively, we just couldn't show those moments of quality to break through. 'We need to improve the squad. There was clarity around that for a long time. 'So we see that. I think supporters see that. We certainly do in football. We need to improve. 'This is a performance club. This is a club that has to perform. And that starts on the field. You do that with getting the very best players you possibly can to allow you to perform.'