Premiership giants Celtic will be looking to get back to winning ways when they travel to France to take on Ligue 1 outfit Lille this Thursday. The Scottish champions haven’t registered a win in all of their last three fixtures across all competitions, and the pressure on Neil Lennon to deliver the goods is undoubtedly building. Having fallen six points behind rivals Rangers on the league table, the onus is now on Celtic to come back and make an impression for themselves.
The most recent points that the Celts dropped were against fellow Scottish side Aberdeen, who were surprisingly able to hold them to a 3-3 draw. Prior to that, the Europa League defeat at the hands of AC Milan undoubtedly had a lasting effect as well. Although these two games would’ve come as massive hits to their morale, the biggest concern will surely have been the 2-0 defeat to Rangers last weekend. Not only did they drop three valuable points, but they were also completely outclassed by Steven Gerrard’s men.
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The Celts’ injury list seems only to be growing, as Greek keeper Vasilis Barkas was the latest name to be added ahead of the Aberdeen clash. The summer signing reportedly suffered from a back problem, which is what forced Scott Bain into the side in his stead. Elsewhere, James Forrest is still unavailable for selection, while Ryan Christie made his long-awaited return to the side on the weekend. Odsonne Edouard is another key name that remains injured for this clash.
Here Is The Predicted 4-2-3-1 Celtic Lineup Vs Lille:
Predicted 4-2-3-1 Celtic Lineup Vs Lille
Defence
Although Scott Bain was brought into the side ahead of Barkas due to a back injury, expect the Greek keeper to make his return to the side for this clash. In front of him, however, Neil Lennon is likely to stick with the same combination that started the last fixture. Kristoffer Ajer has been a lone shining light in defence over recent weeks, and he is set to continue alongside Irish giant Shane Duffy. Jeremie Frimpong and Diego Laxalt are expected to continue in the full-back roles as well.
Midfield
Olivier Ntcham is one of the numerous Celtic players who have been struggling for form over recent weeks, as the Frenchman doesn’t seem to offer any sort of quality in the final third of the pitch. Dropping him from the starting eleven seems like an essential decision at this time, as they undoubtedly lack creativity from midfield. Instead of Ntcham, expect to see Scott Brown returning to the eleven, only to be deployed alongside the calming presence of Callum McGregor.
Attack
The Hoops started the game against Aberdeen with Albian Ajeti as the main striker, and it must be conceded that he was quite poor on the ball. Not only did the Swiss attacker fail to pick up any good positions, but he was merely a spectator for most of the tie. Despite this, expect the striker to retain his place, with Tom Rogic operating in the number ten role. As it was in the last match as well, expect to see Mohamed Elyounoussi and Ryan Christie starting in the wide areas of the pitch.
