Midtjylland v Celtic preview & team news

Published on: 28 July 2021

Liel Abada (right) scored his first Celtic goal last week against Midtjylland Champions League qualifying: Midtjylland v Celtic

Venue: MCH Arena, Herning Date: Wednesday, 28 July Kick-off: 18:45 BST

Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio Scotland DAB/810MW, live text commentary on the BBC Sport website & app

New manager Ange Postecoglou aims for his first victory at the second attempt with Celtic's Champions League hopes on the line in Denmark on Wednesday.

Postecoglou's side and Midtjylland are tied at 1-1 going into the deciding leg of their second qualifying round tie.

Both teams have a player banned after Celtic's Nir Bitton and Anders Dreyer of the Danes were sent off in Glasgow.

If Celtic progress, they will likely face PSV Eindhoven, who have a 5-1 first-leg lead over Galatasaray.

However, if Postecoglou's men are beaten they will meet Czech side Jablonec in the Europa League third qualifying round.

    Booed Griffiths can 'win back wins' Celtic held as Postecoglou era begins

Team news

Celtic's limited defensive options are further stretched by Bitton serving a suspension after his red card last week, earning a second yellow for an angry reaction to Dreyer's dive.

Leigh Griffiths has not travelled to Denmark after picking up a minor injury in training. But fellow striker Albian Ajeti is available after a niggle forced him to miss the weekend friendly defeat to West Ham.

New signings, centre-back Carl Starfelt and midfielder Kyogo Furuhashi, remain in quarantine following their arrival from Russia and Japan respectively.

What did we learn from the first leg?

Celtic looked set to get their Australian manager's tenure up and running with a crucial win, only for Bitton's rash red card and poor goalkeeping from Vasilis Barkas to cost them.

It leaves Postecoglou again hugely short of experience in defence, with Dane Murray and Stephen Welsh expected to form a centre-back pairing with a combined age of 39.

Still, there were pleasing signs further forward for the manager with Ryan Christie back to form and winger Liel Abada marking his impressive debut with the opening goal before being substituted following Bitton's first-half dismissal.

Midtjylland, runners-up in the Danish Superliga last season, underwhelmed and offered little to trouble Celtic but will surely be stronger on home soil.

What they said

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou: "European football is important and a priority for the club. We are in a transition but you don't discount things just because of the current circumstances.

"I totally understand the significance of the game. We performed well in the first game and there is a chance in this leg to progress."

Source: bbc.com

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