Celtic head into their next Champions League fixture against Lazio knowing that they must win to keep their slim hopes of qualifying from the group alive.
Sitting at the bottom of Group E on just one point, Brendan Rodgers will be desperate to pick up the Hoops first win in Europe’s elite competition in over ten years.
The odds are stacked against them as Celtic have only ever won once in Italy, ironically against Lazio in 2018, but with the Hoops away form in the Champions League looking so poor, it would take a brave man to bet for a positive result tomorrow night.
But a report from Italy has shared some news that could raise Celtic’s hopes of grabbing a result. According to Il Messagero, Maurizio Sarri will need to face Rodgers’ side minus four of his top players due to injury.
The Serie A side will be without their central defensive partnership of Alessio Romagnoli (calf strain) and Nicolo Casale (muscle).
Both players were excellent in the first fixture at Celtic Park where Lazio mugged the Hoops 2-1 with a last-minute Pedro goal.
Sarri is also without Italian international winger Mattia Zaccagni (hip strain) and the 69-capped Uruguayan midfielder Matias Vecino, who scored Lazio’s Celtic Park equaliser.
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Both will also miss the game in Turin and all of a sudden it looks like Rodgers’ hopes of pulling off a result have taken a massive step forward.
However, what we do know is that the Italian side does have an array of talent in their squad that can easily come in and make an impact.
Rodgers must ensure that the Celtic back door is kept tightly shut and that his attackers are more effective against the Lazio fullbacks than they were against Motherwell on Saturday afternoon.
In other news, £12m player is being considered for a January move by Celtic