It’s now or never for Celtic as they have to win on Tuesday evening against Ferencvarosi to keep their knockout hopes alive. The Bhoys lost to Real Betis and Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League group stage fixtures.
The Hoops, however, have shown some momentum of late with successive wins on the road against Aberdeen and Motherwell. Ferencvarosi were the winners last year when these two sides locked horns in a UEFA Champions League qualifying fixture and the Scottish giants must make the home advantage count in this midweek encounter.
Predicted 4-3-3 Celtic Lineup To Face Ferencvarosi
Defence
Joe Hart has restored the much-needed stability between the sticks since completing a summer move from Tottenham Hotspur to attain first-team minutes. The custodian is expected to retain his place ahead of Scott Bain and Vasilis Barkas.
Christopher Jullien is back in team training following his long injury layoff. Having said that, the Frenchman should not be risked prior to next month’s international break and the first-team pair of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt must continue to feature at the heart of their deep defence. They are showing more understanding and chemistry of late after a frantic start. Josip Juranovic is yet to recover from his hamstring strain and the gaffer is likely to rely on right fullback Anthony Ralston once again. Adam Montgomery missed the Motherwell tie due to a knock but is in contention to feature tomorrow as a left-back amid the injury absence of Greg Taylor.
The 4th Official uses images provided by the following image agency: Getty Images (https://www.gettyimages.de/) and Imago Images (https://www.imago-images.de/)
Midfield
The return of Callum McGregor has restored the balance and composure in the middle of the park. The Bhoys need to take control of the midfield game and the manager might deploy an attacking set-up with no outright ‘number 6’ similar to their weekend contest. While McGregor should feature centrally, the likes of Tom Rogic and David Turnbull must operate as box-to-box midfielders and carry the ball forward from the deep to cause menace high up the pitch. Nir Bitton, Ismaila Soro and James McCarthy would be there among substitutes to add more depth and stability if the situation demands.
Attack
Despite the injury absence of James Forrest, Celtic have a lethal frontline consisting of three summer signings. Kyogo Furuhashi has been exquisite as a ‘number 9’, whereas both Liel Abada and Filipe Jota have been promising from the flanks with their pace, swift footwork and lively runs. Giorgos Giakoumakis, Albian Ajeti and Mikey Johnston should cover and challenge the preferred trio in limited gametime.
