Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou says he does not “need to prove myself” at Champions League level as his side prepares to face Real Madrid.

Two points from their five group game means Celtic will exit Europe no matter the result on Wednesday, but Postecoglou says improving his team is his only motivation.

“I do this because this club deserves to be at this level and this year has given me the motivation and appetite to make sure we’re here every year and make an impact,” Postecoglou said.

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Draws home and away with Shakhtar Donetsk are all the Scottish champions have to show for five group games in which they have created an abundance of chances but have been unable to convert enough of them.

Postecoglou wants his team to reflect the club he feels belongs amongst Europe’s elite.

“We get 60,000 at every game, we’ve got an unbelievable stadium that creates the most unique of atmospheres,” said the Australian. “A club of our size deserves to be playing at this level so that’s where the motivation lies.

“I want this football to make an impact. It’s not about me. I don’t need to prove myself to anybody.

“I’m quite comfortable in the kind of manager I am, but I also know I have a responsibility with this football club to make sure it takes its rightful place amongst the best football clubs in the world.”

A victory over Celtic will guarantee Real top spot ahead in Group F. It would also draw a line under some patchy recent form for the European champions, following defeat to RB Leipzig on matchday four and a draw with Girona in La Liga.

While Celtic would have wished to be visiting the Bernabeu still alive in the Champions League, Postecoglou says it should still be an occasion to relish.

“Everyone at our clubs is really proud to be here playing against one of the world’s greatest teams,” he said. “Hopefully the game will be memorable for everyone, including our supporters.”

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Team news

Karim Benzema has been named in the squad having missed Madrid’s last seven matches with a muscular problem. But Aurelien Tchouameni and Eden Hazard both miss out through injury.

Cameron Carter-Vickers did not travel with the Celtic squad after the defender “pulled up a bit sore” after the weekend win over Livingston, with Postecoglou adding that “the artificial pitch wasn’t great for him.”

Other than long-term absentee Callum McGregor, Celtic have no other injury concerns.

Pick your Celtic XI

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Commentator’s notes

Liam McLeod, BBC Sport Scotland in Madrid

The Celtic players and supporters finally get the game they’ve been pining for as they travel to the Spanish capital and their long-awaited date at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The only disappointment for the many who have made their way to the Iberian Peninsula is that the stakes are so low as Celtic look to win in Spain for the first time.

A frustrating return to Europe’s top table ends with the Scottish champions hoping to register a victory at the sixth and final attempt, at the home of the European champions.

Real still have work to do to win Group F thanks to their defeat in Leipzig last week so Carlo Ancelotti may not rest as many of his stars as he might have. They will want to avoid a possible last 16 pairing with the likes of Bayern Munich, Napoli or Manchester City.

Domestically, Celtic are as ruthless as they are relentless. In Europe they have been as frustrated as they have been profligate, and their points tally of just two is scant reward for generally promising performances in their five games so far.

Indeed, on matchday one they had Real by the throat before succumbing in the second half in Glasgow. But they really should be viewing this final European game of the season through a more positive prism and with more points in the bag.

However, the signs are there that Postecoglu’s team isn’t far away from challenging in this competition and they’ll be desperate to return next year to right some wrongs from this season’s tilt.

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What they said

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti: “Celtic are not going to change their identity. They’re going to come here to play their football with intensity, with passion, with quality. We expect this. It will be an open game.

“I have a lot of respect for this team. I think for the quality they have they could do better in this group, but they were very close to having a result [against us in Glasgow].”

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou: “The whole Champions League campaign has been a great process for us. Understanding what we can bring to these games and where we need to keep improving.

“Every game we’ve had our moments and when we’ve had our moments we haven’t taken them. Mostly they’ve come when we’ve played our football, but we also know when the opposition have their moments they can punish you.”

Match stats

• Real and Celtic have met three times in the European Cup/Champions League. The Spanish side lost the first on March 5, 1980 (0-2), but beat them 14 days later (3-0) to progress to the semi-final. The most recent meeting was the 3-0 win for Real at Celtic Park in September.
• This will be the fourth time a Scottish side has faced Real in Madrid in the European Cup/Champions League, with each of the previous three ending in defeats – 0-6 for Rangers in 1963, 1-5 for Kilmarnock in 1965 and 0-3 for Celtic in 1980.
• Celtic’s last five games against Spanish sides in the Champions League have all ended in defeat, conceding 19 goals and only scoring once. They have never won away to a Spanish opponent in the European Cup/Champions League (D1 L8 from nine games).
• Real defeat against RB Leipzig last time out was their first of the 2022-23 campaign across all competitions, having gone unbeaten in their first 16 matches of the season (W14 D2). The 3-2 defeat was the first time Ancelotti’s side had conceded more than once in a single match this term.
• Celtic are winless in this season’s Champions League, drawing two and losing three of their five matches. Only once have they failed to win a single game during a campaign (D3 L3), doing so in 2016-17 under Brendan Rodgers.
• Real have only failed to win one of their 11 home games in the Champions League group stage under Ancelotti (1-2 v Sheriff Tiraspol in September 2021), with the other 10 all ending in victory. They have scored 29 goals across these 11 matches, at an average of 2.6 per game.
• Celtic have scored just three goals from 69 shots in the Champions League this season, with a shot conversion rate of 4.4%. Based on the quality of their chances, they would have been expected to have scored seven goals (7.2 xG, 3 goals).
• Since the start of last season, no player has been involved in more open play sequences that have ended in a shot (121) or a goal (20) in the Champions League than Real’s Vinicius Junior.
• No player has had more shots without scoring in the Champions League this season than Celtic’s Matt O’Riley (14). Indeed, the midfielder has had more attempts than any other player for the Scottish side this term.