It’s mission improbable for Celtic
Never give up…but it’s not looking good for the Hoops
Ever since they were drawn against Arsenal in the final round of the Champions League qualifiers, Celtic fans knew they would be in the Europa League.
Many thought this would be an okay situation, giving the club time and space to develop in Europe away from the main pressure from the Champions League.
Sadly, the Europa League campaign has been a disaster for Celtic and Tony Mowbray and with two games to go, they stand on the brink of elimination.
Celtic are already unable to catch group leaders Hapoel Tel-Aviv, who they face on Wednesday night, and are five points behind second placed Hamburg. With six points up for grabs, Celtic need two wins and for Hamburg to lose twice.
Its not impossible…it’s just very unlikely.
Never mind what Hamburg do, Celtic are yet to win a game in the Europa League so far. Winning their last two matches is going to be a tall order for the Glasgow club. Hapoel Tel-Aviv were not considered to be much opposition but they have surprised Europe by achieving a number of impressive results.
Hamburg were expected to race away with the group but this has not been the case.
So, this has led to the situation where Celtic require snookers to have any hope of European football in January but they look likely to join Rangers and all of Scottish football on the European scrapheap.
One thing in Celtic’s favour, and there isn’t much in this group, is that they have lost the fewest amount of goals. Celtic have conceded just the four goals in four games, less than the rest of the teams.
Sadly, the hoops have had problems putting the ball in the back of the net.
There will definitely be one change from the Celtic team that started the game against St Mirren on Saturday. Zhen Zi is not available for selection in the Europa League as he was signed after the deadline and his place may be taken by Barry Robson or Niall McGinn.
Tony Mowbray has been fulsome in his praise of Greek striker Giorgios Samaras in the past few days so he may well get the nod to start up front again. Scott McDonald and Marc Antoine Fortune are in the running to partner Samaras if Mowbray goes with a 4-4-2 system.
There is always a chance he may switch to a 4-3-3 / 4-5-1 hybrid to provide more midfield support whilst freeing up the wingers to create chances.
Celtic do not control their Europa League fate but they need to win to have any chance of maintaining an interest in their final match. However, a number of Celtic fans have written off the game.
Expect a lower than usual attendance at Celtic Park and a lower level of intensity from the fans that are present. At this moment in time, the domestic league is far more important than the Europa League.
Celtic fans, how do you think the bhoys will do on Wednesday?
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