IF Elfsborg vs Celtic Preview

07 August 2013 16:03

Celtic travel to Sweden this evening with a slender 1-0 lead for a second round Champions League return leg against IF Elsborg. The Glasgow based club will be desperate to progress in the competition but know they will face tough opposition after an extremely hard fought victory in the home leg.

Celtic are 17/10 with William Hill to progress in the competition, whilst Elsborg are also 17/10 to claim victory in the return leg. Neil Lennon’s side only requires a draw to progress in the competition. However, coming up against a team mid way through their competitive season and on a dreaded synthetic pitch, this will be no easy feat.

Unfortunately for Celtic, both new signings Virgil van Dijk and Derk Boerrigter will miss the game through injury as well as Tom Rogic. Some good news for Hoops fans is that striker Georgios Samaras will return to the side after being unavailable against Ross County at the weekend. "He is still a bit tender but we will give him every opportunity," explained manager Neil Lennon via The BBC.

Lennon is confident of progressing, but knows Elfsborg are no pushovers. He had this to say; "I think we might need to score to get through," he said. "We don't have to win, a draw will suffice but we are coming here to win the tie. "We are decent on the counter attack, with a lot of pace in forward areas. "Last season has given us the experience, we have been down that road before but it counts for nothing. "I am more pleased that we are a week further down the line in terms of match preparation that had been beneficial to the players. "The Champions League is the blue ribbon event. "It is what we look forward to and we were starved of Champions League football for the last few seasons up until last season and you could see what it meant to so many people in the country."

Kick off is 6.30pm GMT

Source: DSG