Now that Celtic are through to the knockout stages of the Europa League there’s significantly less pressure on our remaining two group stage games.
However, they are still important matches. Not only could winning the group ensure we face an easier round of 32 tie as seeds but, as we pointed out earlier this week, there are financial incentives.
Handy then that we’ll continue to keep an eye on the fortunes of our group opponents with our regular Monday round-up.
How did Lazio, Rennes and Cluj get on over the weekend?
Lazio bounce back
Having had to endure defeat to the glorious Bhoys on Thursday night, Lazio went straight into a crucial Serie A fixture on Sunday that they needed to win to keep their Champions League ambitions on track.
They showed that they are real contenders for a top four position with a confident 4-2 victory at home to Lecce. It’s a win that sees them move up into third position in the Italian top-flight.
Juventus and Inter Milan remain ahead of them by a significant margin, but Lazio clearly have a good shot to take their place in the premier European competition next term.
It’s a sign of just how good they are and just how well we played to beat them twice in the space of a few weeks.
Rennes win a crucial match
Rennes must have been hoping their French Cup win last season could push them on to new heights this season but it’s fair to say they’ve struggled in the early months.
Rock bottom of our Europa League group, their league form had been similarly poor for quite a while.
Domestically though things are getting back on track.
Their weekend win, by a 3-1 margin at home to Amiens, is their second successive victory in Ligue 1 and moves them up into 10th position.
Given the competitive nature of the French top-flight, it means they are remarkably just three points adrift of third place.
With a game in hand on all the teams above them, they’re well placed to make a move towards European qualification positions.
Hopefully things go off the rails for them again before we meet on 28th November inside Paradise.
Cluj draw
The Romanian champions stand as the only team who can prevent us from finishing top of Group E.
They couldn’t follow up a victory over Rennes on Thursday night with a league victory on Sunday night, drawing 0-0 away to Dinamo Bucharest. However, Dan Petrescu’s side remain top of Liga I due to rivals Viitorul failing to pick up a win themselves over the weekend.
At the same time we host Rennes, Cluj will have a journey to Rome to contend with.
That night will be a big opportunity for us to out our first-place finish beyond doubt before we have to travel to Romania in our sixth and final group stage fixture. There’s every chance we’ll already be four points ahead.
Given the form we’re in, we’ll be favourites to top the group regardless.
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