Bavarian Alps form a beautiful backdrop here in Munich … but Celtic will need to scale football’s EVEREST if they are to overcome Bayern in Champions League showdown

The streets of Munich have had a light dusting of snow these past couple of days. With piercing blue skies, there are certain areas of the city from which the Bavarian Alps have been visible.

Situated further south, close to the border with Austria, the mountains are covered in a white blanket and offer a stunning backdrop to this fortress of European football.

While the landscape may be chilly and picturesque, nobody expects this place to turn into a winter wonderland for Celtic when they take to the field at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night.

Those mountains in the distance serve as a visual representation of the task facing Brendan Rodgers and his players against Bayern Munich.

Prior to last week’s first leg in Glasgow, Rodgers described Bayern as European football ‘royalty’. Looking at their record, few would dispute such grand status.

Winning three successive European Cups between 1974 and 1976, Bayern’s original golden era was built on the talents of Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Muller, players for whom success extended to the West German national team and a World Cup triumph in ‘74.

Bayern fans enter Allianz Arena where Celtic face a gargantuan task on Tuesday night

Brendan Rodgers knows his team will have to be at their very best against Bayern

The last time Bayern failed to reach last 16 was 2003, when Jamal Musiala (above) was born

The modern-day Bayern have racked up another three Champions League titles over the past 25 years (2001, 2013 and 2020). Only Real Madrid and AC Milan have won more.

To distil things a little further, Bayern’s home record in the Champions League over the past 15 years sets them apart as probably *the* most daunting opponent Celtic could have picked in trying to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg.

The German giants haven’t lost at home in this tournament in almost four years, a run stretching back to a defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals in 2021. Even that was an outlier.

In Champions League group games, they have won 32 of their last 33 matches at the Allianz Arena, a space-age creation on the northern outskirts of the city which houses 75,000 fans.

Their record in the knockouts is no less formidable. Over the past 19 years, the only teams who have won a knockout match in Munich are Real Madrid, Liverpool, Inter Milan, PSG and Arsenal.

If Celtic were to add their name to that list, it would rank not only as one of the biggest shocks of all time in the Champions League, but as one of the greatest results in the club’s history.

The last time Bayern Munich failed to reach the last 16 was in season 2002-03. For context, that was the year Jamal Musiala was born.

Given that Celtic haven’t ever won a competitive match in Germany, it’s not difficult to see why many feel Rodgers and his players are embarking on the footballing equivalent of mission impossible.

Bayern coach Vincent Kompany is quietly confident that his team will progress on Tuesday

Munich has been a graveyard for Scottish sides in the past, including the national team

Rodgers tried to rouse his team to greater heights in 2-1 defeat in first leg at Celtic Park

Munich has been a graveyard for Scottish teams. Last summer, in the opening game of the Euros, Scotland were thrashed 5-1 by a rampant Germany at this same venue..

Musiala played a starring role that evening, ripping Scotland apart in a brilliant display of attacking football.

Confident he can produce more of the same on Tuesday, the young Bayern Munich attacker said: ‘I had a lot of fun that night. It was one of my favourite games in my career.

‘We wanted to start the tournament well, knew it wouldn’t be easy. But we eventually found our rhythm and it was great fun. Hopefully it’ll be similar in this game.’

In 2017, during Rodgers’ first stint as Celtic manager, his team were beaten 3-0 in a Champions League group game here. Truthfully, it was three going on five or six.

Up against one of the most free-scoring sides in Europe, there’s a danger they could become lambs in a Bavarian slaughter.

As was the case on their previous trip to Germany last October, when they were battered 7-1 by Borussia Dortmund.

That Celtic recovered from the humiliation to claim a place in the play-off round is an achievement in itself, and one for which Rodgers and his players deserve credit.

Michael Olise gave the German giants a precious lead in Glasgow a week ago

Harry Kane scored Bayern’s second with a superb volley which swept past Kasper Schmeichel

Daizen Maeda gave Celtic a glimmer of hope for the second leg with a late header

Victories over RB Leipzig and Young Boys, as well as draws against Atalanta, Club Brugge and Dinamo Zagreb, laid the platform for the club reaching their first Champions League knockout tie in over a decade.

In that respect, the campaign has been a success. Now Celtic have reached the play-off round, only to run into a true European superpower. They have no real right to progress.

That said, the success of this campaign will also hinge on showing an ability to stay in the fight on Tuesday. Celtic dare not repeat the mistakes of Dortmund.

If they do, this could turn into a cricket score in the blink of an eye, regardless of whether Harry Kane plays or not.

Kane is nursing a facial injury and Bayern will make a late call on whether or not to risk the England captain.

‘It doesn’t change anything in terms of we need to win the game and we want to win the game,’ said Rodgers.

‘If Harry doesn’t play, then, of course, it’s a big miss for them. But I’m pretty sure there’s another world-class player that can come in and play. I would expect Harry to play.’

After the Dortmund debacle, Celtic showed far greater composure and maturity in the Champions League, most notably in claiming a priceless point away to Atalanta.

Rodgers needs to come up with a grand plan if his team are to have any chance in Munich

Harry Kane is a doubt with a facial injury but Rodgers still expects the striker to play

Skipper McGregor says Celtic will have to produce their best ever performance to progress

The growth and evolution of this team will be evident in how they fare away from home against a team with the firepower of Vincent Kompany’s Bundesliga leaders.

No Scottish team have ever won in Munich. The chances of Celtic changing that are remote to say the least.

However, if they can stay in the fight and make life uncomfortable for Bayern, Rodgers and his players would sign off this European campaign with solid credit in the bank.

The inclusion of Daizen Maeda playing as a central striker must surely be a key part of the game plan.

When he moved from the left into a central role in Glasgow last week, there was a notable improvement in Celtic’s ability to hunt Bayern higher up the pitch.

With his relentless energy to press, deploying Maeda through the middle is the one big decision Rodgers faces in terms of his team selection.

Given the horror show that unfolded on their last trip to Germany, and the criticism that followed, this feels like a season of decent progress in the Champions League.

Celtic have recovered and shown maturity. If this is to be their last hurrah in the competition this season, how they sign-off is important.

The scale of the challenge is clear. With those mountains looming large in the distance, Celtic are attempting to scale football’s Everest.