Celtic could all but secure their place in the last-32 of the UEFA Europa League tomorrow night in Lazio.
The Hoops take the daunting trip to Italy looking to get yet another one over on the Serie A powerhouses. The game comes just two weeks after Celtic did a number on Simone Inzaghi’s side at Parkhead in a 2-1 success.
However, to replicate those scenes, we’ll need to do something we’ve never done – win a competitive game in Italy. And win a game against a side who have won their last three Serie A matches and contain an Italian international striker who has just scored his 100th goal for his club.
It’ll be one hell of a result if Neil Lennon’s Bhoys can pull it off. But who will make the starting XI? Let’s delve in and see what’s what ahead of the game:
The team
Fraser Forster got the headlines he deserved for his stunning save from Danilo Cataldi two weeks ago. You get the feeling he’ll have to be in similar form for us to get anything tomorrow. One thing’s for certain, however – he’ll definitely start.
Against Hibs on Saturday, Lenny made the surprising decision to play Jeremie Frimpong over Hatem Abd Elhamed. Frimpong has burst onto the scene, but Elhamed has tended to play all of our big games. In a sense, Elhamed feels like a kind of pay-per-view signing. A player who only plays in the main event games. With Frimpong not a part of our registered Europa League squad, Hatem should take his place back.
At centre-back, Christopher Jullien and Kristoffer Ajer will face their stiffest challenge yet. Felipe Caicedo and Joaquin Correa are doubts (Blasting News Italia). However, with Ciro Immobile fit and firing for Lazio, they’ll be up against tremendous quality regardless. Jullien was the hero in the reverse fixture, and he’ll be key with his aerial ability once again.
The big doubt heading into tomorrow night is the fitness of Boli Bolingoli. But he was out in the Daily Record yesterday talking up Celtic’s chances in Rome. He also stated that he couldn’t wait to play in the match. To sum up, he doesn’t sound like he’s injured despite coming off at half-time on Saturday. We’ll be optimistic and say he starts.
Scott Brown and Callum McGregor need to put everything into this Thursday. Alongside Forster and Odsonne Edouard, they’re the first names on the teamsheet.
James Forrest is going to be crucial in Italy. So often against big opposition, he’s the man who can put even the best full-backs under pressure. We’ll know after about 20 minutes what kind of game he’s going to have. Hopefully it’s an inspiring one.
Ryan Christie made his return against Lazio two weeks ago and fired home the crucial equaliser at Parkhead. Can he do something similar tomorrow?
The left-mid battle is certainly getting interesting. The spot belongs to Mohamed Elyounoussi for now. However, Mikey Johnston is back available and was an unused substitute against Hibs. But this isn’t a game to go experimenting – Mo starts for us.
In recent times, Odsonne has been going about setting up others as opposed to netting himself. Against Hibs, he bagged two assists for McGregor and Elyounoussi. In the previous game at home to St Mirren, his strike off the post led to Mo firing home the rebound.
Edouard is our key to success, however, and he’ll be looking for his second group stage goal of the season. With Lazio failing to keep a clean sheet in any of their last nine matches at home in Europe – Eddy must be confident.
As always, here’s the team in list form:
GK – Fraser Forster
RB – Hatem Abd Elhamed
CB – Kristoffer Ajer
CB – Christopher Jullien
LB – Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo
CM – Scott Brown
CM – Callum McGregor
RM – James Forrest
CAM – Ryan Christie
LM – Mohamed Elyounoussi
ST – Odsonne Edouard
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