With the Europa League group stages already halfway done, Matchday Four looks to seperate the best from the rest as the race to Baku heats up across the continent.
Celtic head into the return batch of fixtures in Group C knowing that they face an uphill battle to progress to the last 32, currently sitting third behind RB Salzburg and RB Leipzig, the latter of whom they host this week at Celtic Park.
Brendan Rodgers' side will need to win if they are to keep their hopes alive - and a three-goal margin of victory would lift them above Ralf Ragnick's side into the top two with a pair of games left to go.
Leipzig however will take confidence from their 2-0 win a fortnight ago at the Red Bull Arena - and with Nir Bitton, Eboue Kouassi and Daniel Arzani all still missing, Celtic will have to pull out all the stops to keep this season's European dream alive.
| Game | Celtic v RB Leipzig |
| Date | Thursday, November 8 |
| Time | 8:00pm GMT / 3:00pm ET |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States (US), the game will not be broadcast on television but will be available to stream on Bleacher Report Live.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| N/A | B/R Live |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on BT Sport 3 and livestreamed on BT Sport Live.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| BT Sport 3 | BT Sport Live |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Celtic players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Gordon, Bain, Mullen, Hazard |
| Defenders | Izaguirre, Hendry, Simunovic, Gamboa, Boyata, Lustig, Benkovic, Church, Duffy, Ralston, Welsh, Bell |
| Midfielders | Brown, Sinclair, Hayes, Morgan, Rogic, Ntcham, Mulumbu, Ajer, Robertson, McGregor, Forrest, Kennedy, Robertson, McInroy, McLaughlin, Hill, Tierney, Hendry, McKay, Johnston, Marku |
| Forwards | Griffiths, Christie, Edouard, McGrath, Savoury |
The aforementioned absence of Bitton, Kouassi and Arzani is a blow for Rodgers, but he will be hoping to include Olivier Ntcham, though it might have to come at the expense of the in-form Ryan Christie.
The 23-year-old has scored three goals in his last three matches for Celtic and may feel frustrated to lose his place.
Confirmed Celtic XI: Gordon, Lustig, Benkovic, Boyata, Tierney, Rogic, McGregor, Forrest, Christie, Sinclair, Edouard.
| Position | RB Leipzig players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Gulacsi, Muller, Mvogo, Krahl |
| Defenders | Saracchi, Orban, Upamecano, Konate, Klostermann, Mukiele, Halstenberg, Hoppe, Bohmer, Talabidi, Rucker, Grimm, Jakel |
| Midfielders | Forsberg, Ilsanker, Laimer, Demme, Mekonnen, Hartmenn, Majetschak, Bias, Winter, Kampl, Fontaine, Krauss, Ruhner, Stenz, Bottcher |
| Forwards | Sabitzer, Poulsen, Werner, Bruma, Cunha, Augustin, Kruger |
Rangnick finds himself nursing no major injuries ahead of the trip to Glasgow though he will be waiting on the confirmation of whether Jean-Kevin Augustin is fit to return following his absence for their game against Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga.
Timo Werner is yet to start a game in Europe this season and could slip into the starting line-up.
Confirmed RB Leipzig XI: Mvogo, Mukiele, Orban, Upamecano, Saracchi, Laimer, Ilsanker, Sabitzer, Augustin, Bruma, Cunha.
Betting & Match Odds
RB Leipzig are even money favourites to take the victory at 1/1, according to bet 365, while a draw is available at 13/5. Celtic, meanwhile, are priced at 3/1.
Match Preview
Celtic may have won the Scottish Premiership title seven times in a row – but Europe has been an unforgiving fortress for Rodgers’ side in recent years.
Their best performance in the last decade is a solitary round-of-16 appearance in the Champions League in 2013 where they were subsequently on the wrong end of a bruising 5-0 aggregate score against Juventus.
Since then however, they have failed to reach the last eight of either the Champions League or Europa League, with the Hoops making a frustrating habit of spluttering out in the early stages.
They will face another ignominious exit unless they can galvanise a partisan home crowd to overturn the two-goal deficit inflicted on them by RB Leipzig a fortnight ago in defeat and gain a measure of revenge.
Victory would draw them level with Rangnick’s side, whose fine domestic form will likely serve to warn the hosts of the measure of their task.
With stars like Timo Werner unlikely to even feature in the starting XI, Leipzig have quality in spades to call of the bench and change the game in the blink of an eye.
They are also fully fit too, though Rodgers at least hopes to recall Ntcham following his brief lay-off.
Doing so however would likely mean dropping in-form youngster Christie, whose tally of three goals in his last three games has helped Celtic improve on their domestic form .
Either way, it’s going to be a tightly-fought contest for the hosts – and one that will very likely determine the future of their season.
