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Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
Sport
Chris Doyle

Celtic line-up predicted as Neil Lennon faces Odsonne Edouard Lille dilemma

Celtic have been handed a boost for their Europa League clash with Lille as Odsonne Edouard travelled with the squad to France.

The big question is will he start for the Parkhead club?

Neil Lennon said they needed to assess the striker, along with Nir Bitton before coming to a decision.

Obviously having a player of his quality at Celtic's disposal would be a huge positive, but his inclusion also gives them more options to play with.

Lennon opted for a 4-2-3-1 in the 3-3 draw with Aberdeen on Sunday after his side's second half revival against Milan last week.

Does he stick with that or revert back to a 3-5-2? This is why Lennon earns the big bucks, but it's a welcome dilemma to have as players return to fitness.

Lennon should roll the dice with Edouard. It's a big game as Celtic look for a reaction after their poor run of results and that means he should start his best players. If he can't play the full 90 minutes, that's fine. It's better to give him the first half of the match than the second, if that's the case.

However, he should stick with the 4-2-3-1 set-up. There's been a definite improvement in attack for Celtic since the change, even if it a small sample size. Leigh Griffiths and Albian Ajeti haven't been firing on all cylinders anyway.

Shane Duffy's form has been worrying, but Celtic don't have another option with Christopher Jullien on the sidelines and Lennon will back the under-fire defender. He will partner Kris Ajer in defence.

Scott Bain can fill in for the injury of Vasilis Barkas with Jeremie Frimpong and Diego Laxalt taking up the full-back positions.

Similar to Edouard, Lennon should start Bitton if he's good to go and can be deployed alongside Scott Brown to give the back four more protection. That means Olivier Ntcham and Tom Rogic will miss out, but the pair can make a positive impact off the bench in the second half if Celtic need a goal.

Callum McGregor will complete the midfield three with Ryan Christie and Mohamed Elyounoussi on either side of Edouard.

Celtic predicted XI: Bain, Frimpong, Duffy, Ajer, Laxalt, Bitton, Brown, McGregor, Christie, Elyounoussi, Edouard.

How do you think Celtic will line-up against Lille? Decide for yourself using the widget above.

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