Date: Tuesday, November 26 Venue: Celtic Park Kick-Off: 19:45 Celtic must win at home to Milan in tonight's Group H encounter to keep alive their faint hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Team News
Celtic manager Neil Lennon will welcome James Forrest back into the fold after the winger missed Saturday's win over Aberdeen with a hamstring injury. However, Lennon will be without a quad of players tonight. Midfielders Scott Brown and Nir Biton are suspended and defenders Adam Matthews and Steven Mouyokolo injured. Milan themselves are also without a number of key players after Defender Philippe Mexes and midfielder Sulley Muntari became the latest to drop out of the side with respective injuries. Forward Stephan El Shaarawy, full-back Mattia De Sciglio and goalkeeper Marco Amelia had earlier been ruled out. (
bbc)
Key Stats
Celtic boast an all-time record of 16 wins, five draws and only two defeats in the group stages of the Champions League. However, The Bhoys are bottom of Group H with just three points as things stand. Milan haven't won away from home in the Champions League this season, and will be looking to pick up a victory on their travels for only the first time this year. The Rossoneri's last European victory outside the San Siro came against Anderlecht almost exactly one year ago. That 3-1 in Belgium secured them a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Likely Line-Ups
Celtic Forster, Lustig, Dijk, Ambrose, Izaguirre, Mulgrew, Ledley, Forrest, Commons, Samaras, Stokes
Milan Abbiati, Emanuelson, Zapata, Bonera, Abate, Poli, Jong, Montolivo, Kaka, Balotelli, Matri
Match Preview
Celtic go into this all-important Group H encounter with Milan knowing a win is probably the only result that will keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League. The last time these two sides met, The Bhoys suffered heartbreak in Italy when defender Emilio Izaguirre put through his own goal late on before Sulley Muntari added a second in a 2-0 defeat. A similar set-back here would in all likelihood spell disaster for Neil Lennon's men. Barcelona are already guaranteed to win group H, and Celtic will move into the last-remaining qualifying slot with a win against Milan - if Ajax fail to beat Barca - but defeat at Celtic Park would eliminate them. Likewise, a Celtic draw may also not be enough tonight. A tie coupled with an Ajax win would also knock the Scottish champions out of the competition as they are behind the Dutch side on the "head-to-head" record. A Celtic defeat by Milan, coupled with an Ajax win, would mean Lennon's side could not even finish third, and would therefore miss out on the crumb of comfort that is Europa League football. A Celtic win over Milan however alongside an Ajax defeat versus Barcelona would guarantee Celtic third place at the very worst, and that's what The Bhoys must hope for. They will take spirit ahead of this task in the knowledge that Milan are in dire form and also without a number of key players, including Stephan El Shaarawy. Milan were booed off the pitch over the weekend after drawing at home to 10-man Genoa, a result which left them a whopping 18 points behind Serie A leaders Roma. If that poor run of form continues here, Celtic could be headed for the knock-out stages.