Celtic return to Europa League duty on Thursday night a game against Sparta Prague. The Hoops go into the game in fine fettle, after defeating Aberdeen 2-0 in the Scottish Cup semi-final on Sunday.
That was an excellent performance, and served notice that Celtic seem to be back in the right direction after a challenging few weeks. Now it is onto the Europa League. If Celtic want to make the last 32 of the competition, then three points against Prague will be vital.
The Hoops are currently in third place in their group, three points adrift of second placed Lille who take on top of the table Milan. A win for Celtic coupled with a Lille defeat would put the Hoops level on points with the French side.
Hoops boss will be looking to keep the momentum going
Neil Lennon will want to keep the momentum going ahead of the next international break, with Celtic set to face Prague then Motherwell.
Here is the team we expect the Hoops boss to select to start a must-win game:
In goals, Scott Bain will get the start. He seems to be the first choice goalkeeper for the time being, we don’t see that changing against Prague.
We think that the Hoops boss will continue with four at the back. Starting with the full-back pairing, we predict Diego Laxalt will start on the left and Hatem Elhamed will make his return to the starting line-up on the right. Elhamed will be desperate to play after missing a few weeks due to Covid-19. It also won’t do Jeremie Frimpong any harm to have a break for a game.
In the centre of defence, Shane Duffy and Nir Bitton will continue. Duffy played well against Aberdeen, hopefully that will continue, and Bitton should be his usual calm self.
In the middle of the park, Scott Brown and Callum McGregor seem certain to continue their run in the team, and will be tasked with controlling the midfield area.
A tweak to attacking side of team
In front of them, we tip Olivier Ntcham to get the nod over Tom Rogic. Ntcham just seems more suited to European games, look how well he performed for much of the game against Lille. It is better to save Rogic for the bench, where maybe he can be unleashed towards the end of the game. It could also be useful to give him a break ahead of the Motherwell game.
Playing alongside Ntcham will be Ryan Christie. He was excellent in the win over Aberdeen, his opening goal was one of the highlights of the season so far. Mohamed Elyounoussi will also start, he is in a fine run of form, with four goals in the last three games.
Now to the lone striker selection. He is still getting fully fit, but we tip Odsonne Edouard to keep his place as the lone striker. He can only benefit from another start as he aims to get back to his best.
Predicted XI: Scott Bain, Hatem Elhamed, Shane Duffy, Nir Bitton, Diego Laxalt, Scott Brown, Callum McGregor, Ryan Christie, Olivier Ntcham, Mo Elyounoussi, Odsonne Edouard.
In other news, Al-Ahly’s sporting director has claimed that Celtic have not made an offer to sign Mohamed Magdy.
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