Celtic’s clash with Utrecht is of much more importance to the home side than the visitors.
The Dutch side are already eliminated from the Europa League, while Martin O’Neill’s side can guarantee qualification with a win.
Utrecht finished fourth in last season’s Eredivisie, behind only the Dutch ‘big three’ of PSV, Ajax and Feyenoord. This season, however, things have taken a turn for the worse.
Manager Ron Jans is under pressure with the club sitting 11th in the table. Even if he can win in Glasgow, it’s unlikely to alleviate much of the pressure off of his shoulders.
As we know, Celtic’s transfer window is the main focus as deadline day approaches, but injuries have also had a devastating impact on the Hoops’ season.
Celtic vs Utrecht in the Europa League
Let us know how you think the game will go and drop us your score predictions below.
Martin O’Neill’s Celtic squad update
We are unlikely to see Jota kick a ball this season, with the £9 million signing facing over a year on the sidelines after an injury sustained in May.
Likewise, Cameron Carter-Vickers is in a race to be available for a home World Cup with the USA this summer.
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Neither of that pair are even in the discussion at this point – but after a few unseen faces were seen back at Celtic training, O’Neill was asked about them at his pre-match press conference.
He had some positive news on Kelechi Iheanacho, but others such as Marcelo Saracchi seem to still be a work-in-progress.
O’Neill said: “Well you know, obviously Reo Hatate will miss the game because he’s suspended for that, and so some of the lads, we’re okay. We’re okay, we think.
“There’s a couple of knocks and things like this here that the boys are having to get over, but we’re okay.
“Yes, [Iheanacho] is available for selection.”
He clearly wasn’t giving too much away, but given Saracchi’s return to Celtic training, it can’t be too long a wait before Celtic have a backup left-back again.
The man on loan from Boca Juniors is another one looking to make a late push to be on the plane to North America in June.
Who would you rather have fully fit for the rest of the season: Marcelo Saracchi or Kelechi Iheanacho?
Celtic’s Europa League campaign so far
No one at Celtic, not least Brendan Rodgers, was wanting a Europa League campaign this season – but since it started, it has been a mixed bag.
A 1-1 draw with Red Star Belgrade marked a solid start, but in losing 2-0 at home to Braga, some serious weaknesses in the squad were exposed.
Celtic then beat Sturm Graz, but lost away to Midtjylland on O’Neill’s return. Things looked precarious at this point.
However, a heroic 3-1 win at Feyenoord was masterminded by O’Neill a fortnight later, before he was replaced by Wilfried Nancy.
Thankfully, Nancy’s humbling home defeat to Roma was the only European mishap that he was allowed to have, and after last week’s draw in Bologna, the Hoops are firmly in with a shout.
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