The season so far

By their exceedingly high standards, 2017/18 has not been a vintage Bayern Munich season.

A Super Cup win against Borussia Dortmund on penalties at the start of the campaign was a step in the right direction, as were back-to-back victories over Bayer Leverkusen and Werder Bremen to kick off Bundesliga proceedings.

But cracks soon started to show, with defeat to Hoffenheim and a home draw against Wolfsburg resulting in the Bavarian club falling off Dortmund’s title pace.

With pressure growing, a 3-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League was enough to see Carlo Ancelotti sacked after just one season in charge. Glasgow Times: Carlo Ancelotti was not surprised he lost his job at Bayern Munich. 'It happens, you move on,' he said Photograph: Getty

The Italian led the club to the league title last season, their fifth in a row, but the result in the French capital marked their heaviest Champions League group stage defeat for 21 years and came amidst reports of unrest within the dressing room.

Veteran Jupp Heynckes has now stepped out of retirement to guide Bayern until the end of the season in his fourth spell in the Munich hotseat.

He got off to the perfect start with a 5-0 thrashing of Freiburg on Saturday, their biggest league win of the season so far, and Dortmund’s defeat to RB Leipzig gave Heynckes further reason to celebrate as it helped narrow the gap to the leaders to just two points.

Who is Jupp Heynckes?

Heynckes was happily retired until he received the call from the Bayern hierarchy following Ancelotti’s sacking.

Aged 72, the German is vastly experienced and is more than familiar with the pressures of the job having taken charge of the club in three other spells over the last 30 years, twice in a full-time capacity and once as caretaker.

His retirement came after a stunning 2012/13 season in which he led the German giants to a Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup treble. The achievement led the legendary Franz Beckenbauer to describe that side as “the best Bayern team ever.”

Plenty of that squad remains, albeit a few years older, with five of the players Heynckes picked for his debut win over Freiburg also featuring from the start in the Champions League final four years ago – Thomas Muller, Arjen Robben, Javi Martinez, Jerome Boateng and David Alaba.

Key players and injuries

Where to start? Heynckes has the luxury of being able to choose from a star-studded cast of players.

Lethal Polish striker Robert Lewandowski is the team’s main source of goals, with 13 already this season, while young right-back Joshua Kimmich has been the top provider with six assists.

The likes of Muller, Mats Hummels, Robben and Boateng provide vast experience while Kingsley Coman, Thiago Alcantara and James Rodriguez are more than capable of providing spark. 

One minor boost for Celtic is that goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and winger Franck Ribery are out injured, while Javi Martinez has also been ruled out after picking up a shoulder injury on Saturday.

Midfielder Arturo Vidal and defender Juan Bernat also missed out on Saturday’s clash with Freiburg due to knocks.

Record against Celtic

The two clubs have only met twice before, in the group stage of the 2003/04 Champions League.

A Roy Makaay double saw Bayern come from behind in Munich to record a 2-1 win, with a Magnus Hedman mistake gifting the hosts the winner with four minutes remaining.

The Hoops were then held to a goalless draw at Parkhead in what was the first time Martin O’Neill’s side hadn’t secured victory at home in the tournament for six matches.

A final day defeat for Celtic in Lyon saw them denied a place in the last 16, with Bayern leapfrogging the Bhoys on the final day courtesy of a 1-0 win against Anderlecht.