BOYATA URGES SIDE TO SHOW COURAGE
while Thomas Muller is also out. Franck Ribery too will miss the game with a longterm injury problem and first-choice goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has a broken foot.
Bayern’s general manager Karl Heinz Rummenigge offered an indication of Bayern’s view of Celtic when he claimed that Lewandowski would have travelled with the team had the Bundesliga side being playing Real Madrid and not Celtic.
“I don’t even want to comment on that,” said Boyata. “We could be playing against Bayern’s reserve team but we’d still have to win the game.
“We just want to play as well as we can and show a better side of ourselves than we did in Germany so I don’t really care what their general manager has to say.
“The manager told us that Lewandowski didn’t travel yesterday but that doesn’t really change anything for us.
“With or without him, this game was always going to be very tough for us. I watched them play RB Leipzig without him on Saturday and they still won 2-0.
“Lewandowski is an important player for them and they might have a slightly different approach but our job will stay the same – we need to stay focused.”
Celtic have had injury issues of their own with Jozo Simunovic and Erik Sviatchenko out. The latter has resumed very light training at Lennoxtown but the expectation is that it will be Nir Bitton who takes up the central defensive berth alongside Boyata.
“He doesn’t lack confidence, not at all, he’s very calm and very good on the ball,” said Boyata. “Then, of course, the defensive prospect is different when you play as a centre-back and he’s alright.
“When I play alongside him I shout at him - I usually lose my voice in a game!
“‘How much have I been helping him? A lot! A lot! I love Nir. He is a very good player.”