Neil Lennon has named his team to face Riga in the Europa League third qualifying round tonight, as per the official club Twitter.
The full match squad is as follows:
Starting XI: Barkas, Bitton, Duffy, Ajer, Forrest, Brown, Ntcham, McGregor, Taylor, Christie, Edouard
Subs: Bain, Ajeti, Klimala, Turnbull, Elyounoussi, Frimpong, Elhamed
It’s no surprise that Lennon has gone strong tonight for this one with no Celtic Park second-leg match to fall back on. Indeed, tonight’s game in Latvia is a one-legged shootout.
The Hoops managed to make the last-32 of this competition last season before being unceremoniously knocked out by Copenhagen. Bettering that run will almost certainly be the target this term.
But Riga have proven to be no mugs at home in the past. They’ve yet to lose a European qualifier at the Skonto Stadium since they were formed back in 2014, and have never conceded more than one goal at home either.
The major talking point from today’s line-up is that there’s no place for Albian Ajeti. Despite scoring four goals in five Premiership games, the Swiss forward is dropped whilst Odsonne Edouard returns.
Another change sees James Forrest come into the side for Jeremie Frimpong, whilst the injured Christopher Jullien is replaced by Nir Bitton.
The bench is one again hugely strong, with the likes of Ajeti, Patryk Klimala, and Moi Elyounoussi all available if necessary.
Broadcast details
For Celtic TV subscribers outside of the UK and Ireland, you can tune in and watch the match live. The coverage will start on Celtic TV at 17:55 from the Skonto Stadium.
Unfortunately, those with a Celtic TV subscription within the UK/Ireland or a Pass to Paradise will have to settle for live audio commentary. A full match replay will be available from 10pm this evening.
Alternatively for those living in the UK and Ireland, the match is also being broadcast live by Premier Sports. You can watch it there for subscription costs starting from £9.99. You can click here for more details.
The above coverage is the only way to view the match legally. Extensive text coverage of all of Scotland’s teams in Europe this evening will be available on the BBC Scotland website.
Fan Reaction
The fans have mainly been talking about Ajeti being dropped, and no wonder either. Tonight seemed the right time to give Edouard and Ajeti their chance to shine together in Europe.
However, it looks as though Neil Lennon has instead decided to go with a 3-5-1-1 system with Christie playing off the lone-striker. Of course, it could be that the manager has another plan in for kick-off.
Here’s a look at what some of the supporters are saying on social media:
https://twitter.com/Jozo_67/status/1309155742121955328
https://twitter.com/kbyrnes95/status/1309155670764249091
https://twitter.com/LK95_/status/1309154839746801665
https://twitter.com/__crisp67/status/1309154365614292995
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