Martin O’Neill will have Celtic’s quest to win the Scottish Premiership in the back of his mind as they travel to face Stuttgart in the second leg of their Europa League play-off round tie this week.
Celtic were well beaten 4-1 by Stuttgart at Parkhead last week as the German side put one foot in the round of 16.
Benjamin Nygren scored between a brace from former Leicester star Bilal El Khannouss, while strikes from Jamie Leweling and Tiago Tomas then extended the visitors’ lead.
They were also defeated 2-1 by Hibernian in league action last time out, to lose ground on both Hearts and Rangers – albeit the Bhoys still have a game in hand – as the Premiership title race heats up.
It looks as if O’Neill‘s side will need to fully focus on domestic games if they wish to lift silverware this season, and he is set to ring the changes in Stuttgart this week as a result.
- Read more: Celtic fans roast Kasper Schmeichel after what he did vs Stuttgart
Celtic predicted XI vs Stuttgart as Kasper Schmeichel dropped
Veteran stopper Schmeichel had a nightmare against Stuttgart last week, as he failed to stop some soft goals from going in and was slammed by Celtic fans online.
This game feels like the ideal opportunity to give Viljami Sinisalo a chance to stake his claim in between the sticks, with Auston Trusty set to continue at centre-back after he was sent off against Hibs and will miss their next league game at Rangers.
Liam Scales should also retain his place in the centre of defence, while Julian Araujo and Marcelo Saracchi may take up the full-back slots in Germany.
O’Neill has stuck by 4-3-3 so far, and this will be no different, with captain Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate and Liam McCowan potentially chosen to start in midfield.
James Forrest could provide an ideal rotation option to replace Yang Hyun-jun on the right wing, with Junior Adamu coming into the side for Tomas Cvancara and Sebastian Tounekti keeping his place in attack.
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How to watch Celtic vs Stuttgart
Celtic face an uphill task to make the Europa League round of 16, hence why O’Neill could well make six changes with their upcoming league clash against Rangers in mind.
The Hoops travel to Germany to face Stuttgart for a 5:45pm kick-off on Thursday, 26 February at the 60,058 capacity MHP Arena.
Supporters in the UK will be able to catch the clash live on TV on TNT Sports 2, while it is being streamed online on discovery+.
Wherever you’re travelling, stay connected, stream securely and protect your privacy on public Wi-Fi with Proton VPN.
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