Celtic v Shakhtar: Predicted starting XI and score prediction

There is no two ways about it. Celtic need to pick up three points tonight in Warsaw.

You would expect Real Madrid to take care of RB Leipzig which would leave the Germans rooted to the bottom of the table, but only if we defeat Donetsk.

We don’t want to come out of tonight with no points. I actually believe one point is not good enough.

If we have aspirations of qualifying from this group we need to look at securing a victory as we don’t want to head into the doubleheader with Leipzig chasing a six-point deficit.

And that means tough selection choices.

The goalkeeper and back four all pick themselves.

Hart, Juranovic, CCV, Jenz and Taylor all start.

The midfied three of McGregor, O’Riley and Hatate will offer that creative energy needed to win the midfield battle but it’s the top three, for me, where Ange needs to make tough choices.

To negate the threat of Mykhaylo Mudryk on the left, Maeda must start on the right. Which means Abada drops to the bench.

It does mean losing that goal-scoring threat from the Israeli but Maeda himself also isn’t doing too badly at finding the back of the net with four in eight appearances.

Maeda just offers that extra work rate at closing down the threat of Mudryk and that must be a priority for Ange Postecoglou.

On the left, Jota will start. That is a no-brainer. The Portuguese wingman is in sensational form and he is the one that will unlock the Shakhtar defence.

Up front is where the toughest choice needs to be made.

I believe Giakoumakis should start. For two reasons.

I don’t think this is a game for Kyogo. The Ukrainian defence is big and strong and whilst the speed and agility of Kyogo is exceptional, Giakoumakis just offers the power that may be needed to help break them down.

Mykola Matvienko and Sergiy Kryvtsov are bustling six foot defenders with over 80 international caps between them, they will be tough opponents. It will be a physical battle and that is one I would back our Greek frontman to win.

The second reason is Kyogo is a great option to bring off the bench around the 60 minute mark.

Imagine battling Giakoumakis for an hour and then having to deal with the pace of the Japanese striker for that last half hour?

I think that could be key in the latter stages of the game.

What would your starting XI be?

Prediction: Shakhtar 1 v 3 Celtic

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