In the shadow of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains close to the Kazakh-Chinese border, Celtic take to the Central Stadium against Kairat Almaty on Tuesday night in a £40 million shoot-out for Champions League football. As far as “European” football outposts go, this is as extreme as it gets for Celtic. More than 3500 miles separate Glasgow and Almaty, the latter a city further east that Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Tajikstan. The team’s journey was broken up by a refuelling stop in Turkey on Sunday afternoon. The Scottish champions have flown halfway across the world. What was already an awkward European assignment was made hazardous after Wednesday night, when Celtic drew 0-0 with Kairat in the first leg of this play-off tie. Celtic were booed off the pitch, cries of “sack the board” rang through Parkhead and the long-term future of manager Brendan Rodgers came to prominence once more. Failing to reach the Champions League would be an enormous failure. Celtic have been there the past three years by virtue of not requiring a qualifier. No direct entry this time around has necessitated a play-off. Kairat Almaty appeared one of the more straightforward potential opponents but they put in a well-drilled, disciplined performance in the first leg, stifling an albeit lacklustre Celtic forward line that failed to hit the heights of last season. Understandable, when you consider that since the turn of the year, Kyogo Furuhashi and Nicolas Kuhn have been sold, while Jota has a long-term ACL injury. Adam Idah’s form has fallen off a cliff, while last season’s star man Daizen Maeda has let his level drop a couple of notches. That would be palatable for Rodgers and the Celtic board if there were others to shoulder the burden, but Furuhashi and Kuhn have not been replaced like-for-like. Celtic’s back-up plan consists of unproven players at elite level: Yang Hjun-jun, Shin Yamada and Johnny Kenny, plus the veteran James Forrest, who at 34 years old is understandably slowing down. He is one of a handful of Celtic players to have experienced the perils of playing in Kazakhstan. He, Kieran Tierney and captain Callum McGregor were part of teams that overhauled Astana not once but twice in qualifiers during Rodgers’ first spell as manager between 2016 and 2019 - but crucially, the donkey work was done in Glasgow. Celtic have never won on Kazakh soil. In fact, no Scotland team - club or international - have been counterparts from Kazakhstan away from home. It is not just a paucity of signings playing against Celtic; it is also the weight of history. Rodgers tried to calm the hysteria on Friday when he told reporters he has no plans to leave Celtic before his contract expires next summer. Transfer activity does now seem to be accelerating, with Antwerp winger Michel-Ange Balikwisha on the verge of signing for £4.5m. As the manager will no doubt lament, it is too late for this tie. At least Celtic arrived in Almaty with some positive energy behind them. They prepared by beating Livingston 3-0 on Saturday in the Premiership, with Benjamin Nygren - one of Celtic’s early summer recruits - scoring a brace. Rodgers likes Nygren as a No 8 in his midfield, but the majority of his 16 goals for Nordsjaelland in Denmark last season came from out wide and one suspects the Swede will be used on the flanks against Kairat. Central midfield is one of Rodgers’ best-stocked departments. Idah’s goals have dried up, although it is far from certain he will be fit enough to start in Almaty, as he is nursing a knock. Maeda was rested against Livingston due to fatigue and he is set to come back in, probably as the main striker. Right-back Alistair Johnston is out for some months after tearing his hamstring in the first leg and his presence will be missed. The good news for Celtic is that their opponents also have selection issues. First-choice keeper Alexander Zarutsky is injured, as are Portuguese left-back Luis Mata and Georgia cap Giorgi Zaria. Chelsea-bound wonderkid Dastan Satpayev is suspended after picking up an 100th-minute booking for blocking Arne Engel's free-kick. It still will not be comfortable for Celtic, in humid 30C temperatures on the back of a sapping journey. They remain favourites to progress to the Champions League, where a £40m bounty awaits the club, but after weeks of snail’s-pace transfer business off the pitch, they will need to put their foot to the floor on it. The expectation is for Celtic to be a Champions League club. Losing to Kairat Almaty will send shockwaves all the way through Europe back to Glasgow, with the after-effects on recruitment and Rodgers’ future potentially devastating. Celtic cannot afford to fail in a situation largely of their own making.