Celtic manager Neil Lennon has provided an early injury update ahead of the visit of CFR Cluj on Thursday night in Europa League action.
The Hoops get set to face the Romanians for the third time this season in an intriguing contest. Neil Lennon’s men are out for revenge after losing 5-4 to them on aggregate last month in a Champions League qualifier.
It’s set to be a tasty contest, but the team selection is going to have to be spot on. A different side to the one who faced Cluj on that dark night at Parkhead is a certainty.
And Lennon has already provided a quick update on where he’s at with his potential selection. Speaking to the Scottish Sun, this is what Lenny had to say:
“It will be a different defence from last time. Jozo won’t be there and Callum won’t play at left-back. And it will be Fraser or Craig in goal with Bainy being out.
“Hatem or Chris might start the game but we’ll assess that. And the likes of Bolingoli, Jullien and Bauer have all come in and started to show how good they are.”
Neil Lennon won’t take any risks this time around
The key standout here is the fact that Lennon won’t play Callum McGregor at left-back again. It was a terrible experiment at the time, and showed a serious lack of faith in Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo.
Expect the Belgian to keep his place this time around. He’s still to seriously win over the vast majority of the Celtic supporters, but it’s difficult to shake off the idea that he does have real quality in there.
Interestingly, Lenny also touches on assessing who starts out of Hatem Abd Elhamed and Christopher Jullien. With Moritz Bauer coming off against Hibs with a knock to his ankle, Elhamed may have to play at right-back in any case. The Hoops boss has shown confidence in him to play either on the right or at centre-back. But injuries could dictate where he starts this week.
Jullien, meanwhile, played the full 90 against Hibs yesterday. There doesn’t appear to be any reason for him not to start alongside the struggling Kristoffer Ajer. The Frenchman went down with a knock to his face early in the second-half in Leith. But he carried on and nearly scored with a towering header too.
Neil’s team really should pick itself on Thursday night. A rest for McGregor looks highly unlikely after these comments from Lennon too. You get the sense he sees him slotting back into his engine-room role this week.
But any bumps and bruises from the Hibs battle will hopefully have been shaken off by Thursday. With a full five days to prepare, there’s no reason for any sloppiness come kick-off this week.
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