Thursday evening will see the Bhoys welcome Braga to Celtic Park for their first home UEFA Europa League match of the campaign. After kicking off with a 1-1 draw away to Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade last week, the Celts will be aiming to put their first victory on the board at Paradise. With the Hoops still being domestically unbeaten and looking to continue that in the Europa League, a big part of that has been their defensive performances. For Kasper Schmeichel, that is a foundation Brendan Rodgers’ side will look to build upon, heading into the Braga game. Speaking to the media ahead of Thursday evening’s European clash, the Celtic number one said: “I think Braga will be a tough team to play against. They will be very well-organised and aggressive. “As a team, they have good technical players, and they are very well-structured and organised. ‘They will be a tough opponent, but I’m very confident that if we play up to our potential, then we will be able to win the game.’ “I think any good team is built on solid defence. We as a team press very high up the pitch and defend very well everywhere. “We minimise chances for the opposition, and we give ourselves a platform to go and win games. So we have been happy with that.”As both sides kicked off their Europa League campaign with positive results, Thursday night’s match will offer up a chance for Celtic and Braga to continue that. With the Bhoys picking up what could prove to be a valuable point on the road, the Portuguese side started things off with a 1-0 victory over Feyenoord. Schmeichel insists that this tournament is one of huge importance to him and his team-mates, with the expectations at Celtic always being about winning, no matter who the opposition or competition. “The Europa League is massively important this season,” he said. “We can’t affect the past now. All we can go and do is as well in this competition as possible, so it’s vitally important for us. “Any time you put on a Celtic shirt, you are expected to win. Whether it’s in Europe or whatever it is, you are expected to win. ‘That is the expectations we have for ourselves. This is an extremely important competition for us.’ “Winning breeds confidence. It doesn’t matter where or when it is, it always breeds confidence. “Any time you put on this shirt, you’ve got to win. So, there’s not really any difference between winning in any competition.” MORE ON THE MATCH Training Gallery: Celtic v Braga – view here Take on the pre-match Celtic v Braga quiz – here Your official Celtic v SC Braga match programme –
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