Sparta: Celtic most beatable
SPARTA PRAGUE boss Vaclav Kotal has lit the touch-paper on their Europa League rivalry with Celtic – by insisting the Scottish champions are the most beatable team in Group H. The Czech side have been drawn in a highly-competitive section alongside the Hoops, French big-spenders Lille and Italian giants AC Milan. And although Neil Lennon’s charges were top seeds in yesterday’s draw, Kotal reckons the Parkhead side are the weakest opponents
CELTIC were handed a tough draw for the Europa League group stage. But they will have an even more difficult season if they don’t get it right in the final few days of the transfer window. It was vital to get through in Bosnia the other night by any means necessary. It’s job done and move on, now it will be absolutely crucial Celtic do the business before deadline day in terms of arrivals and potential departures. Neil Lennon has to be sitting on Tuesday morning with his key men still in the building. That means Odsonne Edouard staying. Celtic need to strengthen their squad, not diminish it, and the coming days will be revealing of how the club are going to approach this season. This year was absolutely massive before – but now it could be even more important. The Rangers result means Scotland has two sides are in action un t i l Christmas at least and th e re’s a possibility of the country climbing up the rankings and securing an automatic Champions League group stage spot.
That is absolutely huge and the prize for winning the league has just gone up a notch.
The qualifying process has been fraught with danger for Celtic and the chance to bypass these banana skins to go straight in is every bit as important as clinching the 10.
The cost of failure would be unthinkable.
Rangers could stop the run and then get a golden ticket worth £35million.
That’s why the coming days are so crucial. There is just so much at stake.
Everyone wants to be involved in European football but that does come at a physical cost.
Both Celtic and Rangers are now pretty much guaranteed to be playing twice a week for the rest of 2020 and they puts a lot of demands on the squad. Which is all the more reason for Celtic to make sure they tool up before the window closes. The victory in Sarajevo was similar in a lot of way to Riga the week before but yet again it highlighted the need to keep Edouard. Whi le h i s di splay the other night might not have hit the heights, he was in the right place at the right time to score the vital goal and that was enough.
Him not being there would have been unthinkable given Albian Ajeti’s absence. I’ve liked what I’ve seen from the former West Ham striker but he’s not played much in the last year and perhaps the odd injury is to be expected.
It means you simply can’t risk going in to the next six months with him as the main striker as Patryk Klimala is still too raw and question marks remain over Leigh Griffiths.
The door should be bolted shut in terms of departures and there has to be signings made as well.
We all know what Celtic need. They are screaming out for a left fullback or wingback to help out Greg Taylor.
They’ve lost both Jonny Hayes and Boli Bolingoli , so you could argue that they need two more.
The side is far too lopsided at the moment and Jeremie Frimpong is constantly tasked with providing the attacking intent from the wide areas.
I know Neil Lennon said it was an excellent performance the other night but I didn’t see it. What I saw was a team still a bit laboured, who are struggling to cope with teams that camp in.
The good thing for them is they won’t have that problem in the Europa League.
It’s a tough draw but a good one. In a lot of ways it’s similar to last season’s group.
AC Milan have the history and the prestige but they are not as good as Lazio were 12 months ago.
They scraped through on penalties against Rio Ave on Thursday but they have the likes of Brahim Diaz on loan from Real Madrid and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
I can remember playing against him when he was at Ajax, which shows how long he’s been at it, but he’s still a threat at 39.
I’d say Lille are a better side than Rennes last season, who are in the Champi o n s League this year and they could have Gers’ Alfredo Morelos on the books by then.
But the y have a strong squad and will be tough.
As will Sparta Prague, who look to be a step up from Cluj so there’s no doubt the draw could have been kinder.
At the same time Celtic should have confidence they can get out of the group, and that should be their aim.
It will suit them facing teams who actually try to play football and, regardless of the importance of the domestic season, they should be targeting being in Europe after Christmas.
We’ve got an exciting season ahead in Scotland and on the continent but the next 72 hours will go a long way to shaping it.
Bolt the door in terms of departures and there has to be signings made too