MOUSSA DEMBELE has rushed back from his hamstring injury to take his place on the bench this evening.
Odsonne Edouard sat out training last night in the Olympic Stadium in Greece, fuelling speculation that he had picked up an injury and was a doubt for tonight.
Fit again Leigh Griffiths got a start on Saturday at Tynecastle but once again drew a blank before being substituted. The Scotland striker looks increasingly frustrated at the ball just not running for him at the end of last season and into this one.
It’s been one niggling injury after another for Griffiths and it has had an effect on his momentum as a fine Celtic striker.
Tonight Brendan Rodgers is looking to these three for goals. The stakes are high and the time to deliver is this evening in Athens. It’s just the kind of situation that Leigh Griffiths relishes.
“You could say they have the advantage, especially with the away goal but we, as a team, are more than capable of scoring an away goal ourselves,” Griffiths stated.
“Last week we proved that, even under the circumstances with the game at 1-1, we were still pushing for the second goal. Given the quality of the squad we have, we are confident that we will score.
“Champions League football sets the standard for the season,” Griffiths continued.
“These ties are never easy. You’ve seen that in previous years when we’ve tried to qualify and didn’t.
“The last two years we have qualified against teams of a good stature. This is no different. We’ll look to come here and get a positive result.
“We’re under no illusions that it’s always difficult at the start of the season but we’ve shown over the last couple of years that we can qualify under that pressure.
“There’s pressure in every game when you play for this club, regardless of whether it’s the league, cup, Champions League or Europa League.
“There’s always pressure to get the result from myself, from the manager and from the fans. This is a big game but, with the squad we have, we’re more than capable of getting the result and going through to the next round.”
