Livingston’s Ibrox goal hero Joel Nouble has spoken of his amusement at his side breaking up Celtic’s preparation for back-to-back Champions League games ahead of tomorrow’s Scottish Premiership match between the sides.
Celtic conclude their Group F campaign against Real Madrid on Wednesday following a 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk in Paradise that saw them officially bow out of Europe for the season, but tomorrow’s trip to West Lothian is the priority for now for the Champions.
The Englishman loved the idea that his name would be mentioned alongside Real Madrid’s Champions League winning stars as Celtic prepared for another huge week in their season in the lead-up to the World Cup break.
As reported by The Daily Record, he said: “It’s quite funny to think they’ll have been doing their work on Shakhtar earlier in the week, next week they’ll be looking at Vinicius Jnr, Benzema, Modric – but in the middle it will be Joel Nouble.
“That’s pretty crazy, there won’t be too many teams who have gone from Livingston to the Bernabeu.
“That’s quite funny but it will be good, we can’t wait.”
Nouble has already scored twice against Rangers this season, netting in the season curtain-raiser before scoring the opener at Ibrox last week, and the striker is enjoying his growing notoriety in Glasgow.
He said: “Having the Old Firm back-to-back is something to look forward to. These are the games you want to play in.
“Playing Rangers last season was different, I was excited to be there but this season I am going into it knowing I can do well. I scored against them on the first day of the season so I know I can do it. It was a great thing to do and it boosts your confidence.”
“I had a very good moment – the best of my career so far – against Rangers last weekend. I really enjoyed it, when the ball hit the net there was just silence and you think to yourself ‘did I score or did I not score?’ but then you see all the angry faces!”
Celtic’s struggles at the Toni Macaroni stadium are well-known at this point, the Hoops won in West Lothian in March for the first time in six attempts and fifteen years, having already dropped five points to David Martindale’s men earlier in the season.
After a well-deserved point against their Glasgow rivals, Livingston will rightly be trying to cause another upset for Celtic tomorrow.
Though it’s unlikely to be a straightforward day at the office, three points are a must if Celtic are to maintain clear daylight between themselves and Rangers going into the World Cup break next month.
In other news: Former Celtic hero warns against familiar Livingston pitfalls
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