Martin O’Neill has some big calls ahead of the Champions League game against LASK tonight at Celtic Park. The main area of concern for me is the midfield with the likes of Engels and Oxlade-Chamberlain no longer available for selection. Obviously Engels has departed for West Ham and Oxlade-Chamberlain is reportedly suspended for three European games. Usually, you’d expect Reo Hatate to slot into the midfield with Callum McGregor but he has yet to feature at all during the league campaign. There is no way the Japanese midfielder can be 100% ready for a game of this magnitude. The manager has a big call to make in the middle of the park. Does he go with want away Hatate or does he go with new signing Baur, who made his debut from the bench at Dundee Utd last weekend. There is also the possibility of the manager throwing a curveball and starting Luke McCowan but he has hardly featured either.
Big calls for the manager
The goalkeeper and defence picks itself if everyone is fit for selection. The new look front line was brought in for big games of this nature so I’d expect them to play in the hope that we manage to get a couple of goals up after the home leg. As I said, the only real area of concern is the midfield and what comes off the bench to support the team as the game goes on. With Celtic still expecting several new additions through the door, the bench is looking a lot weaker than we would have liked ahead of such a big game. Martin O’Neill will get on with picking a team from the group he has in front of him but the feeling is he would have liked extra bodies in ahead of a mega money pressure tie of this nature.
Celtic will take the game to LASK
I presume Celtic will pick a team capable of getting on the front foot and scoring early on to try and take control of the game and the tie. The only positions I am unsure about is the Hatate/Baur/McCowan selection. As well as the left wing position. Does he bring back Yang after Tounekti’s impressive performance at the weekend? Or does he stick with the Tunisian? The manager has a couple of calls to make tonight. Here’s hoping they get it right and take a strong lead to Austria next week.
Potential Lineup for tonight's match
All views expressed on Celtic DNA are personal opinions and are for commentary and discussion purposes only
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