Champions League Group H: Celtic must beat AC Milan to keep qualification hopes alive to final round of fixtures
AC Milan are considered 6/4 favourites by Paddy Power to beat Celtic and secure the final qualification spot from Group H for the knockout stages.
Celtic will know that the pressure will really be on ahead at Celtic Park as they know that AC Milan could qualify for the last 16 at their expense with a win in Scotland.
The SPL champions find themselves bottom of Group H after four games however a win would catapult The Bhoys into second and into the final qualification spot for the knockout stages.
Celtic |
2/1 |
Draw  |
23/10 |
AC Milan |
13/8 |
After missing several first team players at the weekend in the 3-1 win over Aberdeen, Neil Lennon will welcome back both James Forrest and Anthony Stokes who were unavailable at the weekend.
Despite their inclusion, captain Scott Brown will be unavailable as he continues to serve a suspension after getting sent off against Barcelona in the last round of games.
Despite struggling in Serie A, AC Milan have continued to get results in Europe and the Rossonieri will move on to the knockout stages if they win in Glasgow.
Most of the fuss in Massimilliano Allegri’s side revolves around the fitness of Stephan El Shaarawy who has returned to training and could make an appearance on the bench if he is deemed fit enough.
The Italian side will still be without a couple of defensive resources though as defender Christian Zaccardo and Marco Amelia both out thorugh injuries.
The stats lay heavily in AC Milan’s favour though as the Italian side has won 5 of the 9 meetings between the two sides with the Scottish champions having only won twice in nine attempts.
In the other group game, Ajax will look to continue their European adventure as they host group leaders Barcelona in Amsterdam.
Barcelona’s unbeaten record in the group means that they have already qualified for the last 16 although Ajax are still in the hunt for the second spot with the Eredivisie side potentially moving up to second if results go their way on Tuesday night.
The only absence for Frank De Boer’s side will be striker Bojan who will be unable to face his former side with Danish youngster Viktor Fischer likely to fill in his absence.
Barcelona will be without several key names with Lionel Messi and Victor Valdes injured and Alexis Sanchez suspended meaning that the likes of Pedro and Neymar expected to be the main threats in the clash at The Amsterdam Arena.
Celtic will know that there is a lot riding on tonight’s game at Celtic Park and the Scottish champions will be out to prove that they have what it takes to upset the odds and stay in contention for the alst 16 for the second year running.
