Celtic manager Neil Lennon has announced his team for tonight’s crucial Champions League qualifier against Ferencvaros, as per the official club website.
The full match squad is as follows:
Starting XI – Barkas, Elhamed, Jullien, Ajer, Taylor, Brown, McGregor, Ntcham, Forrest, Elyounoussi, Christie.
Substitutes – Bain, Bitton, Ajeti, Klimala, Soro, Frimpong, Harper.
The big headline news here, of course, is the exclusion of Odsonne Edouard.
The manager told reporters yesterday that the Frenchman was struggling with a thigh problem ahead of the match, so his absence isn’t a huge shock.
However, the fact that Lennon has gone for Ryan Christie ahead of recognised striking talents Patryk Klimala and Albian Ajeti will certainly raise a few eyebrows.
There’s clearly a reason for the manager’s decision here and it’ll be very interesting to hear his comments on tonight’s team when speaking to media outlets pre-match later.
Elsewhere Hatem Abd Elhamed is fancied over Jeremie Frimpong at right-back, which is a solid decision in my book. Elhamed has the experience and composure to shine tonight and Frimpong is still a little too raw for these high-pressure, knockout matches.
The rest of the eleven is as you’d expect and hopefully we have enough quality on the pitch and on the bench to get the job done.
Broadcast details
Tonight’s game is available on the ‘Pass To Paradise’ stream system available to season ticket holders as well as Celtic TV subscribers worldwide, excluding Hungary.
If you aren’t lucky enough to have a club login then the game will also be shown live in the UK & Ireland on Premier Sports 1.
And if you don’t have access to a television or online video streaming, BBC Radio Scotland will be broadcasting live commentary via this link.
Kick-off is at 7:45 pm.
Fan reaction
As you can imagine, there is concern about Edouard’s absence tonight as well as the fact there is no real recognised striker on the pitch.
Some supporters are confused about Klimala and Ajeti’s presence on the sidelines.
The Polish youth international has had plenty of minutes in pre-season and the early stages of the campaign in particular.
However we are favourites tonight and must still have hope of progressing. It’s still a very strong team.
Have faith they can get the job done.
These supporters have taken to Twitter this evening to share their thoughts…
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