How to watch Gamba Osaka v Celtic: Live stream details plus TV channel and latest team news

Celtic have travelled across Japan to the city of Osaka for the final leg of their pre-season tour of the Far East, when they take on Gamba Osaka this weekend.

The Hoops were put through some intensive work by Brendan Rodgers and his coaching staff in Yokohama earlier this week, before going down 6-4 to the reigning J-League champions in a highly entertaining and competitive friendly.

Another stern test lies in wait against two-time Japanese winners Gamba Osaka as the Parkhead club continue their preparions for the new campaign. Osaka are currently 21 games into their domestic season and occupy 13th spot in the table. Similiarly to Yokohama F. Marinos, the Black and Blues will take time out of their league schedule to face Celtic.

The match will offer Celtic’s growing Asian fanbase a second chance to watch their heroes in action up close, with Daizen Maeda starring and celebrating a hat-trick on Wednesday. The versatile attacker along with fellow countryman Tomoki Iwata, Kyogo Furuhashi and Yuki Kobayashi will all be hoping to put on a show once again.

GlasgowWorld provides you with everything you need to know about the game.

Where and when will Gamba Osaka v Celtic take place?

The game takes place at the 40,000-seater Panasonic Stadium Suita on Saturday 22nd July and kick-off is scheduled for 11am UK time.

Where can I watch the game?

Celtic have confirmed they will be live streaming the game via their in-house television station ‘Celtic TV’. Supporters must subscribe to watch the pre-season matches, as there is no pay-per view option.

What has been said ahead of the game?

Celtic manager, Brendan Rodgers told the club’s official website earlier this week:“We wanted to really push a nummber of players (on Wednesday). So by the time they were coming off at 65 minutes you could see the tiredness in the legs. We needed to get them through that and come the weekend we will go back to two 45 minutes because of the heat and everything else.

“That will allow us to get back to a good place physically after this trip in the following weeks. There’s a lot of work for us to do, enjoyable work, but we look forward to the next challenge. That’s what pre-season is for. It’s not for flushing out all of those matches and building your fitness up, and we can build through that over the course of pre-season.”

What is the latest team news?

Centre-back Yuki Kobayashi was forced off with an ankle injury against Yokohama after 60 minutes and might not be risked as a precuation, while David Turnbull will be pressing for a start after scoring from long-range following his late cameo appearance.

Youngsters Ben Summers, Daniel Kelly and Ben McPherson also caught the eye from off the bench and will be aiming to build up more game time with the first-team squad during pre-season. Kyogo Furhashi has been struggling with a shoulder problem, which proved an issue for the striker for much of the past year after hurting it during a Glasbow derby clash last September.

Alistair Johnston remains absent for ‘six to eight weeks’ through injury, while Cameron Carter-Vickers continues to step up his recovery from knee surgery. Anthony Ralston, Mikey Johnston and Albian Ajeti were left behind in Glasgow to receive treatment, with new recruit Marco Tilio also nursing a knock.

Gamba Osaka are expected to name a strong line-up, with fringe players also set to be handed a chance to impress. Brazilian midfielder Dawhan is the club’s current top scorer, while former Hearts loanee Ryotaro Meshino and Juan Alano will also be eager to build on their recent goal-scoring exploits.