Following a 4-3 defeat in Spain, Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side will be hoping to turn their European campaign around on Thursday when they welcome Bayer Leverkusen to Celtic Park.

The Werkself may not be one of the flashiest names in German football but in Gerardo Seoane they have a head coach that has quickly settled into life in the Bundesliga and a team with more than enough talent to go far in the Europa League.

Celtic will undoubtedly have to be at their very best if they want to take anything from this game and keep their dreams of getting out of the group alive.

How have Leverkusen fared this season?

Although Leverkusen did lose star winger Leon Bailey to Aston Villa, the club made a number of smart signings in the form of PSG left-back Mitchel Bakker and central defender Odilon Kossounou, among others.

The club, at its best, is a refuge for exciting young players to learn their trade away from the busy and demanding terraces of Borussia Dortmund or Bayern Munich and develop into stars that will thrive in England or Spain. Often, before the cream of the crop move on and with the right coach on the sidelines, Leverkusen can build formidable teams - and it seems as though this season’s side may be one of them.

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In their first eight games in all competitions, Seoane’s side have won six, drawn one and lost just a single game. That defeat was a clash with Dortmund, which saw Leverkusen take the lead three times before eventually succumbing to the sheer unworldly talent of Erling Haaland.

Indeed, after six games only Bayern can lay claim to more points in the Bundesliga and boast of a more impressive start to the league campaign. Simply put, Celtic will be up against one of the best teams in German football at the moment.

How can they hurt Celtic?

Leverkusen undoubtedly lean into the youthful characteristics of their team by using their collective pace to overload opponents whenever possible. At the weekend they took on an extremely well-drilled Mainz side and were able to eventually grind them down with exhaustive counter-attacks at break-neck speeds.

Moussa Diaby is perhaps a little too inconsistent to be considered among the best wingers in the Bundesliga but the French player possesses remarkable pace and has enjoyed a good start to the season with three goals and an assist in eight games. Former Celtic full-back Jeremie Frimpong is his partner in crime on the right flank and has already bagged four assists of his own this season.

Bakker is usually tasked with providing the service from the left flank with exceptional crosses from deep and is often supported by Paulinho on the left wing, while Patrik Schick continues to enjoy the role of targetman upfront. He’ll surely need no introduction to fans of the Scotland national team.

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However, the real jewel in Leverkusen’s crown can be found in central midfielder Florian Wirtz. Called up from the youth team to step into Kai Havertz’s shoes, Wirtz has taken the Bundesliga by storm since he established himself as a first-team regular last season at just 17 years of age.

Wirtz’s talents lie in close control, dribbling and his remarkable array of passes in the final third. Unfortunately for Celtic, he’s also a great goalscorer too. As Leverkusen stretch games, the young star dances by tackles, cuts open defences and finds space across the pitch.

Only Haaland has more goals and assists in the Bundesliga than Wirtz, who became the youngest ever player to reach 10 goals in the German top-flight’s history with his goal against Mainz on Saturday. Wirtz not only characterises this young and ambitious Leverkusen side perfectly but is also their biggest threat.