No side in the world fancies trip to Paris...

FOR Celtic, so much time and energy goes into reaching the Champions League proper, the group stage itself can feel like something of a let down.

I thought when the draw was made, the Hoops’ section was two leagues in one. It didn’t take too much crystal ball-gazing to make this prediction, it must be said.

With their dazzlingly complete performance at Celtic Park in September, Paris St Germain gave notice to the other elite teams in Europe that they now wear the look of potential European club champions. There was always a missing piece in the Parisian jigsaw puzzle, but no longer.

How do you contain the formidable trident of Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe? With extreme difficulty is the honest answer. Whether you sit deep and defend, take a chance on pressing higher up the pitch or a combination of the two, might not matter. Their lethal attack allied with high-class midfield prompting from Adrien Rabiot, Marco Verratti and Julian Draxler means opposing defence are never given a moment‘s peace.

Just ask Bayern. I watched PSG savage them on matchday two with as deft a display of counterattacking football as you’re likely to see anywhere in Europe this season.

That game highlighted the danger of switching off even for a second against Unai Emery’s artists. PSG let Bayern dominate and commit resources forward only to punish them with magnificent, lightning-fast breaks.

In a way, this is a bonus game for Celtic. No one taking part in predictions, of a neutral persuasion, will pick anything other than a huge Paris win.

So the pressure is nil, in all honesty..

Celtic fans will also have an eye on Brussels. As long as Anderlecht fail to beat Bayern, I can’t see Celtic missing out on Europa League football in the new year. Frankly, it will be a surprise if Germany‘s record champions don’t win with something to spare to make it nine victories in a row under Jupp Heynckes. They are a very different proposition now and absolutely full to the brim with confidence.

But Anderlecht v Bayern is not something Brendan Rodgers and his charges have any control over. All they can do it put in their very best performance. Scott Brown was accurate in stating that it will take the display of their lives to achieve a positive result at the Parc des Princes. Brown was with Scotland at that very same venue in September 2007 when James McFadden scored with that legendary long-range strike.

AS HARD as the national team fought that night, good fortune was on Scotland’s side.

It will have to be that way for Celtic, too but think of it as furthering their education. You don’t often get to learn from the great professors.

To put into perspective how strong PSG have become, their 4-1 win over Nantes drew negative reviews. Their opponents were awful with moments of laughable defending, but at times the superstars looked to be suffering from post-international break syndrome. Significantly, a sluggish Neymar looked decidedly off-form and it was by far his poorest outing since the world record transfer from Barcelona. He rarely has two stinkers in a row!

The bigger picture shows a goal difference 14:1 in their last three games demonstrating how difficult Celtic’s task will be to avoid a night of darkness in the city of light.

There’s an old saying that it’s better to be lucky than good. Celtic will have to be both against perhaps the best club side in the world at present.