In the next hour we shall find out Celtic’s starting line-up against Riga FC in the Europa League qualifier. In this odd season of firsts, it is not the usual two-legged affair, it is a one-off game in Latvia.
Celtic fell foul of this against Ferencvaros in the Champions League, where Neil Lennon decides to play without a striker.
Now, Celtic’s European future is on the line against Riga. It’s literally win or go out of Europe completely. Celtic and Neil Lennon can’t afford for that to happen. From both a financial and prestige point of view, it would be dreadful for Celtic.
No messing about with team that is picked
Therefore, Neil Lennon has to pick his strongest side. That means no messing about with playing a midfielder up-front, like happened against Ferencvaros.
It is time for the strike pairing of Odsonne Edouard and Albian Ajeti to be unleashed on the Europa League. The duo have not played a full 90 minutes together yet for the Hoops.
Indeed, they have only started one game as strike partners, the 5-0 win over Ross County. The lack of partnership hasn’t stopped either player from finding the back of the net though.
Edouard has five goals so far this season, and Ajeti has four. Those numbers could well increase as the partnership grows in confidence.
Perhaps if it was a two-legged tie, Neil Lennon might consider only starting one of the duo. However, that is not the case, and Celtic’s European future is on the line.
Defeat would heap pressure on manager
A defeat against Riga would likely heap pressure on the Celtic boss. He does not want that to happen in such an important season for the Hoops.
Therefore, it is time for Edouard and Ajeti to get the not to be the strike duo to help Celtic make the play-off round of the Europa League. Should Celtic defeat Riga, they should start the play-off round as well.
Unless there is a change in formation, if Neil Lennon wants to play a 3-5-2 that should mean Ajeti and Edouard up-front. That needs to happen against Riga. If it does, the Hoops are more than good enough to make the next round of Europa League qualifying.
In other news, Billy Dodds expects Celtic to heavily beat teams once the defence improves.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
