5 Ways Celtic Can Beat Malmo And Qualify For Champions League

5. Stick With Deila's Preferred 4-5-1 Formation

For much of his reign as Celtic manager Ronny Deila has favoured a 4-5-1 formation, with two wider midfielders and a central attacking midfielder providing support to a one man attack.

 However following the signing of Nadir Çiftçi earlier this summer there have been suggestions that Deila might be better opting for a two man attack, with Çiftçi partnering the club’s top scorer from last season, Leigh Griffiths. Former Celtic player turned pundit Chris Sutton has recently claimed he would like to see this forward pairing used by the Hoops this season, whilst Griffiths himself has suggested that he and Çiftçi playing alongside each other could be “a match made in heaven”.

However, Celtic should stick with what they know for their two-legged tie with Malmo and use a one man attack. 

The Griffiths-Çiftçi pairing is as yet untried, whereas using as lone striker has served Celtic well in Europe both this season and in last season’s Europa League. Yes, there will be time at some point this season to see if this strike partnership can yield benefits, but with Champions League football and the guaranteed £16 million for qualifying both on the line, this isn’t the time to be experimenting.