Celtic defender Dedryck Boyata has acknowledged that his side will have to be at their very best if they are to overcome Ajax in the Europa League.

The Bhoys face a must-win match at Celtic Park on Thursday evening, knowing that they need to see off both the Dutch giants and Fenerbahce in their final two group games.

Ajax themselves are yet to book their place in the knockout stages, and Boyata expects the visitors to go all out in their pursuit of victory.

"Ajax is a team that likes to play football," he is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. "You never know but I don't think they will stay at the back.

"If we break against a team who comes against us then there is more space and maybe we create more chances. When a team stays at the back it is difficult because to create the chances you need to open them up.

"Ajax is a really important game. The last two Europa League games were disappointing. We know how good we can be and we didn't manage to be as good as we usually are. So it is a really important game and we need to be at our best."

Celtic find themselves bottom of the Group A standings heading into the final two fixtures, sitting one point behind Ajax and three adrift of Fenerbahce in second.