Neil Lennon announces Celtic team to face Cluj; fans have their say

By John Reid

December 12, 2019

Celtic boss Neil Lennon has named his team that will take on Cluj in the Hoops’ final Europa League Group E fixture.

The team was announced on the Hoops’ official Twitter account.

As expected, the Hoops boss has made plenty of changes from the team which defeated Rangers in Sunday’s Betfred Cup Final.

The fact that the likes of Fraser Forster, Callum McGregor, Odsonne Edouard and Ryan Christie didn’t travel for the game shows that Neil Lennon was intent on giving fringe players a chance.

Manager has made changes

(Photo by Giuseppe Bellini/Getty Images)

That is what he has done. Youngster Scott Robertson makes his Hoops debut, whilst Scott Sinclair makes his first start of the season. Boli Bolingoli returns to the side, whilst perhaps surprisingly Christopher Jullien starts. Leigh Griffiths is the lone striker. Oliver Ntcham captains the side. Karamoko Dembele and James Forrest are amongst the players on the bench.

The team has garnered plenty of reaction from Celtic fans on social media. One fan said ‘nice team selection’. Others were pleased to see Scott Sinclair return and Karamoko Dembele’s involvement.

Here are some of the best reactions from social media to the Celtic line-up:

The Hoops go into the game looking for their 13th win in a row in all competitions. Neil Lennon will be eager for the run to continue. However, he knows that more important games are in the future. The Hoops have three league games in the next nine days.

Smart move to give fringe players a chance

(Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

With the team having already qualified for the last 32 of the Europa League and won Group E of the competition, it makes all the sense in the world to let the fringe players have a chance against Cluj.

Hopefully the players selected by the Hoops boss are able to have an impact on the game, and can give the Hoops a winning end to what has been a very successful group stage campaign.