Celtic are in action in the Champions League on Wednesday night as they clash with Bayern Munich at Parkhead in the first leg of their play-off tie.
The Hoops, who will travel to Germany to face Vincent Kompany’s side in the second leg next week, will be aiming for a strong result to give them something to take to Bavaria.
Brendan Rodgers’ side made it through to the play-off round after they only lost two of their eight matches in the league phase, the latest of which came at the hands of Aston Villa in January.
The Scottish Premiership leaders may face their biggest task yet, though, as they come up against a Bayern team that have only lost one of their 21 matches in the Bundesliga this season.
They have scored a whopping 65 goals in those 21 league matches and found the back of the net 20 times in their eight Champions League games so far this season.
The main task for Celtic tonight, therefore, will be limiting what the German giants can do in the final third, and stopping Harry Kane will be right near the top of their list of priorities defensively.
Harry Kane's form for Bayern Munich
The England captain has proven himself to be one of the very best strikers in Europe throughout his career and is set to offer a huge threat to Kasper Schmeichel’s goal on Wednesday night.
Kane joined Bayern in the summer of 2023 after an exceptional spell with Tottenham Hotspur in England, with a return of 280 goals and 61 assists in 435 appearances in all competitions.
The experienced marksman enjoyed a terrific start to life in Germany with 36 goals, from 30.63 xG, in 32 appearances in the Bundesliga in the 2023/24 campaign, as he showcased his ability to consistently find the back of the net.
Kane also scored eight goals and provided four assists in 12 matches in the Champions League last season, which shows that he can do it on the European stage as well.
Appearances
19
7
xG
16.00
6.51
Goals
21
6
Big chances created
8
2
Assists
6
1
As you can see in the table above, the 31-year-old centre-forward has been on fire in front of goal in the 2024/25 campaign for the Bavarian side, with 27 goals in the Bundesliga and the Champions League combined.
His incredible form over the years for both Bayern and Spurs has contributed to his market value soaring to a staggering €90m (£75m), as per Transfermarkt, and it will not come as a surprise to anyone that he is worth significantly more than any current Celtic player.
Celtic's most valuable stars
In fact, Kane is worth more than Celtic’s nine most valuable players in the current squad, with Cameron Carter-Vickers currently the most valuable in the group at £11.6m.
Chalkboard
The former Tottenham Hotspur defender is ahead of the likes of Reo Hatate and Arne Engels, who are joint-second at £9.1m, but still falls well short of the Bayern Munich marksman’s valuation.
Cameron Carter-Vickers
£11.6m
Reo Hatate
£9.1m
Arne Engels
£9.1m
Nicolas Kuhn
£8.3m
Alistair Johnston
£7.5m
Daizen Maeda
£6.6m
Jota
£6.6m
Auston Trusty
£6.6m
Callum McGregor
£6.2m
Greg Taylor
£5.8m
Adam Idah
£4.1m
As you can see in the table above, Carter-Vickers tops the pile and is ahead of all of the club’s exciting attacking talents – he is even worth more than Adam Idah and Jota combined (£10.6m), which speaks to how impressive his valuation is.
Celtic signed the American central defender from Tottenham Hotspur for a reported fee of £6m in the summer of 2022, which shows that the Scottish giants have hit the jackpot with the colossus, whose value has soared by millions in recent years.
Rodgers must, now, unleash Carter-Vickers from the start against Bayern, after Dane Murray and Liam Scales were given a run-out against Raith Rovers in the SFA Cup last weekend, as he could be the man to silence Kane.
Why Carter-Vickers could silence Kane
As aforementioned, the Bayern Munich centre-forward is an incredibly difficult man to stop from scoring. He has been prolific throughout his career, in England and in Germany, and it will take a big effort from the entire team to keep him at bay.
However, Carter-Vickers is a dominant central defender who may have the tools to have the best chance at silencing him in the clash on Wednesday night.
The USA international, who would have trained with the England captain during their time together at Spurs, has won 67% of his duels in the Champions League and 73% of his battles in the Premiership this season, which shows that he is a physically dominant star.
One of the many reasons why Kane is so effective is that he offers a physical presence in the centre-forward position. The English number nine has won 54% of his duels with opposition defenders in the Champions League so far this season, which shows that he can get the better of centre-backs in physical battles more often than not.
This helps to give him an edge in the final third, as he can brush challenges off to get more opportunities in front of goal, but Carter-Vickers is not a centre-back who is easily brushed away.
24/25
72%
73%
23/24
62%
71%
22/23
59%
74%
21/22
59%
73%
As you can see in the table above, the Celtic number 20 has consistently dominated opposition players in duels on the ground and in the air in the Premiership throughout his career in Scotland.
These statistics suggest that the 27-year-old colossus, who has only been dribbled past once in five Champions League games this term, has the potential to dominate Kane in duels, which could help the Hoops to silence the prolific forward.
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Therefore, Rodgers must unleash the American defender from the start ahead of Murray and Scales for this big clash at Parkhead on Wednesday night, as his physicality could hold the key to stopping the England international.
