With a healthy 3-1 advantage from the away leg, the Scottish champions are well placed to reach the second round of Champions League qualifying
Celtic’s first competitive home game of the 2019-20 campaign sees them play host to Sarajevo in a first-round Champions League qualifier.
The Hoops hold a 3-1 advantage from the first leg in Bosnia eight days ago, where they fell behind to a strike from Mirko Oremus but replied via Mikey Johnston, Odsonne Edouard and Scott Sinclair to open up what they hope will be a decisive advantage.
Neil Lennon’s side were in friendly action at the weekend against Rennes, playing out a scoreless draw, and their fans will hope for more excitement in Wednesday’s clash.
| Game | Celtic vs Sarajevo |
| Date | Wednesday, July 17 |
| Time | 7:45pm BST / 2:45pm ET |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States (US), the game can be streamed via Celtic TV.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| n/a | Celtic TV |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will not be broadcast or available for streaming.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| n/a | n/a |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Celtic squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Gordon, Bain, Mullen, Doohan, Hazard |
| Defenders | Bolingoli-Mbombo, Simunovic, Jullien, Ralston, Church, Deas, McInroy, Welsh, Ajer |
| Midfielders | Brown, Christie, Sinclair, Ntcham, McGregor, Morgan, Kouassi, Arzani, Bitton, Forrest, Kennedy, Henderson, Mckay |
| Forwards | Griffiths, Bayo, Edouard, Hayes, Miller, Mcgrath, Savoury, Aitchison, Dembele |
Celtic have already suffered a couple of fresh injury blows this season, with Mikey Johnston out after sustaining a knock in the first leg and Nir Bitton doubtful after limping off at the weekend.
Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo is expected to be fit, while Tom Rogic, Vakoun Bayo, Marian Shved and Jack Hendry will probably be absent.
Arsenal target Kieran Tierney will miss out once more but Christopher Jullien should make his competitive bow.
Possible Celtic starting XI: Bain; Ajer, Jullien, Simunovic, Bolingoli-Mbombo; Brown, McGregor; Forrest, Christie, Sinclair; Edouard
| Position | Sarajevo squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Kovacevic, Dizdarevic, Adilovic |
| Defenders | Lazic, Serbecic, Dupovac, Kurdic, Sabanovic, Hodzic, Salcinovic, Dupovac |
| Midfielders | Djokanovic, Gavric, Mustafic, Oremus, Hebibovic, Sisic, Rahmanovic, Salcin |
| Forwards | Tatar, Milanovic, Nathan, Velkoski, Ahmetovic, Guzina, Handzic, Crnicki, Da Cruz |
Sarajevo have injury concerns over left-back Selmir Pidro and midfielder Milos Stanojevic, who is one of their outstanding players.
Possible Sarajevo starting XI: Kovacevic; Sabanovic, Lazic, Serbecic, Hodzic; Volkoski, Oremus; Hebibovic, Rahmanovic, Milanovic; Ahmetovic
Betting & Match Odds
Celtic can be backed at 1/7 to win this match with Bet365. A draw is priced at 13/2, while a Sarajevo win is available at 16/1.
Match Preview
Celtic return home for their first competitive fixture of the 2019-20 season at Parkhead well placed to move through into the next round of Champions League qualifying.
But for an early scare against Sarajevo, who took the lead last Tuesday, the Scottish side looked in control of the match and could draw many positives from a fixture that had been tipped to be an awkward one.
In the end, Neil Lennon’s side were unfortunate not to win by a greater margin than 3-1, which would surely have killed the tie off.
Nevertheless, they are in a healthy state as the new season begins, with Saturday’s 0-0 draw against Rennes in friendly action an ideal step towards the midweek match, according to assistant boss John Kennedy.
“We would have liked a bit more action in front of goal in terms of in the box and maybe some goals, but the fitness benefit will be great for us,” he told the club’s official website.
“The games in between the European ties are very important in terms topping up the fitness levels of the ones who maybe didn’t play in midweek, while the ones who have had a longer off-season maybe need a bit more sharpness.
“We got that, which is the most important thing. There doesn’t seem to be many knocks or injuries, so we just prepare now for Wednesday night.”
One man eager to return to action is Ryan Christie, who missed the end of last term due to a facial injury.
“We were delighted with how it went out there,” he said. “The tie’s definitely not over, so we need to be on top of our game to make sure we get ourselves over the line.
“It’s the first European game at Celtic Park this season and hopefully there’s many more if we can progress though the rounds.”
Champions League football is Celtic’s ultimate goal and they will expect to take a step closer towards it with victory in this clash.
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