Just how hot is it and how bad is the pitch?
At night, the temperature does noticeably drop but even then it’s really humid and that’s going to count against Celtic.
They can’t hold back early on because that’s just asking for trouble, but at the same time the conditions will be in the back of the minds of the players who won’t want to run out of puff after an hour or so.
The pitch isn’t great but it seems to be firm enough, it looks green-ish, and not quite the utter nightmare which had been suggested. As Ronny Deila said, there will be no excuses if Celtic lose.
Who is going to start up-front?
It looks like Nadir Ciftci for a number of reasons.
Leigh Griffiths has a slight knock, the former Dundee United man has started all the European games so far and the pitch is going to favour a big man playing up-front.
On Monday, John Collins made the point that on such a bumpy surface the first pass to the centre-forward tends to be to his chest. There won’t be much rolling the ball into feet.
So Cifci is the man to lead the line - and this is a big night for the Turk.
Ciftic has done okay so far but he's missed a few chances, and he really could do with a goal to get his Celtic career up and running.
Are Qarabag any good?
We saw glimpses in Glasgow that they can pass the ball and have one or two good players.
A chat with an ex-pat Scot who has settled here in Baku was interesting. He said that if Celtic played at 80 per cent they would win and that Qarabag were not a team who would ever score a barrowload of goals.
They remain a bit of a mystery, but what they do have is belief that they can cause an upset.
Celtic desperately need Champions League football
This goes without saying but let’s say it anyway.
The domestic scene is not as bad as many doom merchants would have you believe but the league title is already won and the punters know this.
They need excitement, real excitement, and that only comes when their team get to play the big guns.
A season that contains a meeting with Real Madrid and one of the English clubs would be anything bu run of the mill.
There is a hell of a lot riding on this.
Score prediction
Qarabag 1, Celtic 1 (There are going to be some nervy moments)
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