2026-2027 Champions League: LASK vs. Celtic, probable lineups

After a 3-0 victory in front of their home crowd in the first leg, Celtic will simply need to protect their comfortable lead on Tuesday night at the Raiffeisen Arena in Linz, home of LASK, who will have to pull off a stunning comeback to avoid being “relegated” to the Europa League and secure a spot in the Champions League group stage. The match kicks off at 9 p.m. and will be officiated by Polish referee Szymon Marciniak.

LASK, aside from their first-leg defeat, has had a more than decent start to the season, with three wins out of three in the Austrian league, preceded by a 7-0 victory over the hapless Kalsdorf in the Austrian Cup. At Celtic Park, however, the team coached by Dietmar Kuhbauer stood no chance against the Hoops, who were propelled by a goal from Nygren and a brace from Duran. In the starting 3-5-2 formation designed to try to mount a comeback, there will be no room for Harakate, who is still out with an injury. The attack will be led by Usor and Adeniran.

As for Celtic, the team led by bench legend Martin O’Neill has started the season convincingly: despite failing to win any of their friendlies (1-1 draws against Shelbourne and Middlesbrough, a 4-1 loss to Sporting, and a 2-2 draw with Milan), the Bhoys have found their rhythm across the league, League Cup, and Champions League, scoring thirteen goals in four matches. The standout player in this early part of the season has been Colombian Camilo Duran, who joined from Qarabag and has found the back of the net in the last two matches as well as in three of the four friendlies.

Probable Lineups

LASK (3-5-2): Jungwirth; Mbuyamba, Alemao, Andrade; Jorgensen, Danek, Ljubicic, Horvath, Bello; Usor, Adeniran. Coach: Kuhbauer.

CELTIC (4-3-3): Sinisalo; Donovan, Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Tierney; Nygren, McGregor, Baur; Duran, Hogh, Hyun-Jun. O’Neill.