Celtic vs Falkirk LIVE score and goal updates from Premier Sports Cup clash
The Hoops avoided the summer group stages due to their Champions League involvement and they welcome Premiership new boys Falkirk to Glasgow's east end tonight for a Friday night clash.
Brendan Rodgers will be desperate to get his hands back on the League Cup but knows John McGlynn's side will be no pushovers.
They gave the holders a scare last season in the same competition and at the same venue by taking the lead twice before the Hoops ran out 5-2 winners over the then Championship side.
A place in the quarter-final draw is up for grabs and the chance to take another step closer to a day out at Hampden.
15:47Alan Galindo
'We'll be ready from the first whistle' - Brendan Rodgers
Brendan Rodgers insists Celtic won't underestimate the challenge of Falkirk.
He has told the Hoops faithful his side will be ready from the first while and be 'really aggressive' in the game as they kick off their defence of the trophy.
We've had players who've come back a little bit later so they need to get up to speed.
There are others that won't play and I also have to think about Livingston, rather than throw players on for their first game, so the team will be strong and I'll have a good bench.
I'm so happy for John, and I think what he's demonstrated in his time since he's come back into management, is that talent and technique will always override power, unless you have the resources to get power as well as technique and talent.
I look at his teams at Raith and what he's doing now at Falkirk in bringing them up, and you see how they play, and you see the attitude and energy they have in the game, the technical qualities they have.
He and Paul Smith, his assistant, have done a brilliant job, and I'm just so pleased for him because there was a wee bit of nervousness at the end of last year but they got the job done.
He deserves all the accolades he gets, he's been absolutely fantastic and, like I've said, they've demonstrated their game idea and how they want to play, and they've demonstrated a belief in that, and that football philosophy has allowed Falkirk to get promoted for the first time in years.
So well done to him, his staff and his players and, for us, we don't underestimate them tomorrow night. We'll be ready from the first whistle to be really aggressive in the game.
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