Another round of Europa League fixtures is again on the immediate horizon for Celtic.
With seven points after three matches in Group E, we sit top of the table and can move ahead into the second half of the group stage campaign with confidence.
A League Cup semi-final victory will have have only emboldened Neil Lennon’s men as we prepare for a trip to Lazio, but how did the rest of our opponents get on over the weekend?
We check in with our weekly update on the three other teams vying for a place in the last 32 of the competition.
Lazio move into Champions League spot
There’s much more pressure on the Italians than on Celtic heading into Thursday night because of the way the group has started. A defeat to the Scottish champions would be a bitter blow to their chances of qualification for the next round.
However, having moved from seventh position to fourth in Serie A over the weekend, perhaps all their energy will be focused on Champions League qualification instead.
Simon Inzaghi’s side picked up a huge 2-1 win away to AC Milan on Sunday night thanks to goals from Ciro Immobile and Joaquin Correa.
It’s a victory that demonstrates they are serious contenders in the Italian top-flight and are very much in the hunt to make it into Europe’s premier competition come the end of the season.
Cluj bounce back
After defeat last week ensured that Cluj missed out on a chance to extend their lead at the top of Liga 1 in Romania, Dan Petrescu’s men returned to winning ways on Saturday.
Picking up a confident 3-0 victory at home to Academica Clinceni, the reigning champions remain two points clear in first position.
With six points after three Europa League matches, the Romanians have arguably been the surprise package of Group E, unexpectedly beating both Lazio and Rennes.
Their positive momentum continues and a big result at home this Thursday would put them on the brink of knockout round qualification.
It’d be quite something for Celtic and Cluj to dump teams from the top five European leagues out of the competition.
Rennes rained off
The French side had extra rest in their preparations for a trip to Romania this week after their Ligue 1 fixture away to Nimes was postponed on Saturday because of torrential rain prior to kick-off.
Having not played since 27th October, they should be raring to go for the match against Cluj, looking to get revenge for a 1-0 defeat on the last Europa League matchday.
It was a development that frustrated known curmudgeon Petrescu over the weekend despite his side’s victory.
As quoted by The Daily Record, he said: “The only thing that disappointed me was I heard Rennes ‘ game with Nimes was postponed. I wanted them to play and be tired and maybe pick up a few injuries before they came to Romania.
“I think if we get a positive result on Thursday it would be an extraordinary result for Romanian football to beat a team from France home and away.”
That battle will be one to watch on Thursday, with Celtic due to play both after our own encounter in Italy.
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