Celtic have officially announced their starting XI for the all-important Champions League play-off second leg vs LASK.
Celtic enter the second leg of their Champions League play-off round game against LASK with a 3-0 advantage to fall back on.
The first leg was not nearly as one-sided as that scoreline might suggest though. LASK had their chances. And Celtic cannot afford to take them lightly in this second leg. That would be a recipe for disaster.
Celtic fans will be hoping for a professional display from the team, as they look to get this over the line.
The starting XI has now been announced and there is little to complain about. In fact, the Hoops have been handed a boost.
Celtic starting XI vs LASK
It is the starting XI that most fans would have selected themselves. Viljami Sinisalo is in goal and has a defence of Colby Donovan, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty and Kieran Tierney ahead of him.
The midfield will be a trio consisting of Callum McGregor, Mika Baur and the in-form Benjamin Nygren.
And the forward line will be led by Kasper Hogh, with Camilo Duran on the right and Yang Hyun-jun on the left.
Based on what we have seen in recent times, this is the strongest Celtic starting XI available to Martin O'Neill right now.
Obviously, the headline grabber is the selection of Trusty. He had missed training recently and there were suggestions that he could start this game on the bench.
Fortunately, that is not the case. The absence from training was due to an upset stomach. Trusty is in the starting XI and one would hope that we get the best version of him.
What Celtic need to do vs LASK tonight
What Celtic need to do tonight is avoid a one-sided defeat. That would be enough to go through to the main phase of the Champions League.
Obviously, it is not advisable to enter the game with that sort of negative mindset. The game plan should be to win if possible.
That being said, game management is very important. Celtic need to ensure that the opposition does not start to get away with thie game at any point.
The last time Celtic managed to navigate their way through the Champions League qualification process, which was back in 2017, they had actually conceded four goals away to Astana in the play-off round.
Hopefully, the defence will be much more compact tonight. No matter how many goals Celtic end up scoring, the aim should be to keep the opposition at bay at the same time.
What do you think will be the score tonight?
