The route to Europe

The route to Europe​

Celtic face first competitive match of the sesason in Gibraltar​

Two wins, two draws in Brendan Rodgers' first two friendly matches in charge of Celtic. The tour in Slovenia has been a worthwhile exercise, facing teams such as Maribor, who the Hoops know too well from Ronny Deila's first season in charge.

The 4 matches played so far has allowed the new manager to gauge his squad, give players game time and experiment with ideas and tactics. Erik Sviatchenko has stated that Rodgers' provided each player with a handbook, full of simple notes on how he wants his players to perform.

This attention to detail and creative thinking is refreshingly exciting. Rodgers' previous jobs and reputation saw an excellent reaction amongst the players and fans of Scotland's most successful living club. Without playing a competitive game, the signs are already showing that the positive reaction was well deserved.

Celtic are heavy favourites to win this match, sitting at 1/5 with a popular bookmakers. However, as the English found out against Iceland, complacency is toxic. It is the first competitive match of our season, this match will not be as easy as you may expect. Having said that, confidence is high that Celtic will get the result over both legs.

Having beaten Flora Tallin in the previous round, Lincoln Red Imps will be aiming to get further than they've ever been before, if they manage to get past the Scottish champions. Despite losing the first leg 2-1 in Estonia, they managed a surprising 2-0 victory in Gibraltar to set up the glamour tie with Celtic.

The Celtic line up is tough to predict, as Rodgers has given a variety of players starts in the friendly matches. Stefan Johansen and Charlie Mulgrew are out, with Johansen injured and Mulgrew out of contract. Regardless of the starting 11, Celtic will aim to gain as much of an advantage in the first leg as possible.

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Writer's score prediction: Lincoln Red Imps 0-5 Celtic

Writer's line up prediction: