Dedryck Boyata has called on Celtic to show courage and belief as the Parkhead side head into tonight’s UEFA Champions League meeting with Bayern Munich.

The Parkhead side were on the end of a 3-0 defeat in Germany a fortnight ago and Boyata is keen to atone for a display that he felt was not in keeping with the manner in which Celtic believe they are capable of playing in Europe’s premier tournament.

“In that last game we showed a bit of fear and nervousness and, as a result, didn’t manager to play our normal game,” said the Belgian defender. “We didn’t pass the ball; we were just defending and kicking the ball away.

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“When, later in the game, we did start to play, we showed that we could get forward and create some chances. That’s what we’ll be trying to do from the beginning of this game.”

Robert Lewandowski has not travelled to Glasgow after an injury at the weekend while Thomas Muller is also out. Franck Ribery too will miss the game with a long-term 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.

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“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.

“It’s still Bayern Munich and, even though they don’t have Lewandowski, they will find a solution. They will find a way around it, although I’ve no idea what that will be.

“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.”

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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.

And the Belgian centre-half has spent the last few months educating that midfielder on the demands that come with playing at the back.

“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. It’s different for him to play centre back but it’s something he can learn. Game after game he just gets better and better.

“If he does play there tonight I have 100 per cent confidence in Nir. It must be difficult for him. I would find it difficult being asked to play in midfield. But he is great on the ball and he shows confidence and he is 100% always focused. He will be 100% ready to play against Bayern Munich.”