Celtic are set to take on J. League outfit Gamba Osaka on Saturday in the second match of their 2023 Japanese tour. The Bhoys are continually looking to improve ahead of the upcoming campaign and such a clash provides them with the ideal opportunity to do so.
Gamba Osaka currently sit 13th in the J. League and they will provide a stern test for Brendan Rodgers’ men. The 50-year-old spoke to the media ahead of the match and hailed it as an ‘important’ one (Celtic Football Club): “We’re playing against a very good team, very well coached, technically very good and it will be another really important exercise for our fitness towards the beginning of the season”.
It appears that the Irishman is focused on fitness in pre-season rather than the actual results in the games. This usually seems to be the case and it certainly was in Wednesday’s clash with Yokohama F. Marinos. The Bhoys lost by six goals to four but it was productive according to Rodgers: “Our first game was a very good exercise and it’s a game that we accept and we gained a lot from”.
The treble winning gaffer will be hoping for more of the same on Saturday in what is his side’s final game in Japan. After it, the Bhoys will head home to Scotland before playing Wolves in Dublin on the 29th of July. Athletic Club lie in wait after this, days before the league season commences.
