Lazio are missing four key players for Celtic’s Champions League visit

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.

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

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‘Didn’t like it’… Mark Wilson not happy with what £1m Celtic player did just before Motherwell scored

Celtic’s draw with Motherwell has put a laser focus on why, for the second time in a season, Celtic failed to beat a side at home who are struggling at the bottom of the table.

The disappointing result still leaves Celtic sitting pretty eight points clear at the top of the Scottish Permiership after Rangers blew the chance against Aberdeen yesterday to close the gap.

However, it wasn’t the manner of the performance that disappointed Mark Wilson in Celtic’s draw with The Steelmen. It was what Joe Hart was trying to do prior to Obika’s header that really got under the former Celtic defender’s skin.

Wilson said [Clyde SSB], “I just didn’t like the way Celtic set up. Sometimes you just need to do your job. Bigger guys have been brought on.

“Greg Taylor’s with the goalkeeper but it’s a ploy from Joe Hart to get Greg Taylor and between him and Obika so Joe Hart can then push Greg Taylor into him.

“So you’re trying to be fly there and push him out. But what happened is he manages to push Obika into the space where he actually gets his head onto it.

“I just didn’t like it. Instead of Joe Hart concentrating and cooming for that ball and punching it, he’s concentrating and trying to be fly and push his player onto him.

“So I don’t like that aspect of it.”

Is Joe Hart under pressure now at Celtic?

The £1m signing from Tottenham has been excellent for Celtic over the past two seasons. However, that still doesn’t stop questions being raised about the recent run of mistakes he has been making.

Against Livingston, the 36-year-old was red-carded after being caught out of position and had to rush out to make a clearance and instead took out the Livingston attacker.

People raised questions about his part in the Feyenoord goal in the opening game of the Champions League.

For me, that wasn’t entirely Hart’s fault but many do believe he had a role to play in the defeat despite being praised for his performance in Rotterdam.