Hungarian champions Ferencvaros were handed a boost ahead of their trip to Celtic Park this Wednesday.
Index reported earlier this week that the Hungarian Football Federation and top-flight club Diosgyor VTK accepted their request to have a weekend fixture postponed, giving Serhiy Rebrov’s outfit a full week of preparation and focus for the match against Neil Lennon’s Bhoys.
They had been due to play today.
It’s an added undercurrent to the upcoming one-legged knockout tie, which already promises to be a stiff test for the Scottish champions.
Ferencvaros finished 13 points clear of the opposition in the Hungarian top-flight last season and performed well in Europe too.
They earned seven points in the group stages of the Europa League, unbeaten in five of the six matches.
That came after defeating eventual Europa League knockout round side Ludogorets in Champions League qualifying.
Celtic play at 5:30pm this evening but could do with the match practice after just one 90 minutes against Icelandic minnows KR Reykjavik over the last couple of weeks.
With home advantage and as seeds in this process, Lennon’s team will still be favourites for the fixture but we simply cannot take anything for granted and the players must perform at their best.
It’s a massive step up in competition from Reykjavik and potentially Dundee United too.
If we’re caught cold in the early stages, it’s an evening that has the potential to quickly spiral into disaster in a similar fashion to Cluj and Copenhagen.
Lennon will be trying to get a Lazio or Rennes performance out of his men before moving on to the third qualifying round.
In other news, one of the club’s goalkeeping targets this summer has signed for English side Salford City.
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