Team news: Celtic v Hapoel Be’er Sheva (H)
Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic side are just 180 minutes away from returning to Champions League group stage football, but will face tough opposition in the Israeli champions.
Celtic overcame last year’s Champions league outfit Astana in the last round while Be’er Sheva beat Olympiakos.
Be’er Sheva warmed up for their trip to Paradise with a 4-2 win over Maccabi Haifa in the Israeli Super Cup.
The Hoops will be well rested ahead of the tie, with many of those expected to start on Wednesday remaining in Glasgow while they played Inter Milan in Ireland.
Based on the team news below, we’ve predicted the starting team as well.
Celtic
Leigh Griffiths, Efe Ambrose and Stefan Johansen all return from suspension, while Kolo Toure returns to the team after missing last week’s League Cup tie.
Erik Sviatchenko participated in full training today (Tuesday) and could return to the squad after three weeks out with a groin injury.
New signing Dorus de Vries isn’t fit enough to play as he recovers from an ankle injury he sustained last weekend.
Nir Bitton is back to full training but is still a bit short on match fitness as is Dedryck Boyata.
Kris Commons and Gary Mackay-Steven have returned to training but won’t be fit enough to be involved.
Patrick Roberts trained alone today (Tuesday) and has recovered well from a hamstring injury but may not feature until the weekend at least.
Jozo Simunovic is still recovering from knee surgery that he underwent in March and has returned to light training but is still short of match fitness.
Hapoel Be’er Sheva
Captain Elyaniv Barda injured his groin while playing for the Israeli champions last weekend and will miss the first leg.