The story of Celtic’s season so far has been contrasting, to say the least. While on the domestic front they have been nothing but ruthless and dominating, their Champions League adventure has seen them struggle in front of the European powerhouses.
Celtic have collected have won eleven and drawn four in the league and remain unbeaten. However, they opened their Champions League campaign with a heavy defeat drubbing at the hands of Paris Saint Germain.
The French outfit unleashed the likes of Neymar and Mbappe on the Scottish champions and Celtic were handed a 5-0 thrashing on their opening Champions League night. They bounced back in the next match against Anderlecht with a 3-0 win but Brendan Rodger’s men will found themselves with hands full when they went head to head with Germany’s Champions Bayern Munich this week. They went on to lose the match 3-0.
They showed a lot more character in the reverse fixture when they fought much harder and only lost to Bayern by two goals to one. However, their joy was short-lived as they were once again put to the sword by the ruthless Paris Saint Germain side who demolished Celtic by a margin of seven goals to one.
Celtic were always outsiders in a group consisting of the likes of Paris Saint Germain and Bayern Munich. With two teams qualifying for the knockout stages, the task to topple one of the two giants was always going to be difficult. They will, however, look to clinch the third spot and qualify for the knockout stages of the Europa League. As long as Celtic can avoid a 3-0 or worse defeat at the hands of Anderlecht in the final match, they will see themselves go through to the Europa League rounds.
With Patrick Roberts out injured, here is how they will look to line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation:
Defence
Craig Gordon is likely to feature in goal for the Hoops again in a match where they will be hoping to go win all three points. The defensive four for Celtic is likely to be Kieran Tierney at left back with Mikael Lustig most likely to play at right back. Dedryck Boyata is likely to be partnered at centre back with Jozo Šimunović.
Midfield
The two-man midfield axis is likely to be made of Callum McGregor alongside Celtic’s star midfielder Scott Brown with Olivier Ntcham sitting on the bench. The three players in front of them will probably be Scott Sinclair on the left wing, Stuart Armstrong returning at the centre and James Forrest likely to operate on the right flank in place of the injured Patrick Roberts.
Attack
Moussa Dembele is unsure with his injury and Leigh Griffiths should take his place.
