Celtic vs Atletico Madrid preview

November 29, 2011
By: Frank Beresford

Celtic sit two points behind joint leaders Atletico Madrid and Udinese, meaning they need to beat los Colchoneros in order to keep their qualifying hopes alive.

The Bhoys started the season well, although they were lucky to be awarded a place in Europa League group stages after Sion were punished by UEFA.

Neil Lennon’s side struggled to make an impact in Europe, with the opening defeat to Atletico followed by draws against Udinese and Rennes, but the home victory over the French side saw them return to contention for a place in the knockout stages.

The 3:1 win over les Bretons served as a big confidence boost, so Celtic went on to win next four SPL games, and they now enter this crucial Europa League encounter in great spirits.

Having said that, odds of 3.80 (14/5) offered on home win by Victor Chandler still seem like a long shot.

Kris Commons continues to miss out with a thigh problem, whereas Glenn Loovens and Mohamed Bangura have returned into action. Captain Scott Brown remains sidelined, but Charlie Mulgrew should return.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-2): Forster – Loovens, Mulgrew, Majstorovic, Matthews – Kayal, Ki Sung-Yong, Forrest, Samaras – Stokes, Hooper.

Atletico Madrid started the season early on due to their Europa League commitments and los Colchoneros were pretty convincing in the Europa League qualifiers.

However, in spite of significantly reinforcing the squad in the summer, they couldn’t hit the ground running early on and even went on seven games without winning.

They were far from impressive in Europe as well, but the good news is that they are slowly returning to the right track.

The 4:0 win over Udinese saw Atletico make a giant step towards the knockout stages, whereas several good showings in La Liga hinted that Gregorio Manzano’s side were slowly raising their form.

Atletico even took the lead at Santiago Bernabeu at the weekend, but couldn’t avoid defeat after they had two players sent off.

Los Colchoneros are now hoping to return to winning ways against Celtic and they are 2.15 (23/20) with Stan James to claim maximum points at Parkhead.

Radamel Falcao Garcia has recovered from a muscle injury and he is back in contention, but Tiago and Silvio did not make the trip.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-1-1): Courtois – Perea, Miranda, Godin, Filipe Luis – Juanfran, Mario, Gabi, Reyes – Diego – Falcao.

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