Ronny Deila, the Celtic manager, delivered an upbeat and emphatic message last night when he said of tonight’s Champions League play-off decider in Malmö: “We are going to win this game.”
The biggest 90 minutes of the young Norwegian’s Celtic career will unfold in Sweden as his team defends a narrow, 3-2 lead from the first leg. The Scottish champions will make a guaranteed minimum of £16 million from reaching the group stage for the first time since 2013, and the first time under Deila, but the tie is so tight it could go either way.
Celtic were 2-0 and 3-1 up in Glasgow but their lead was twice eroded by Jo Inge Berget goals. The return of the striker and captain, Markus Rosenberg, has boosted Malmö’s confidence ahead of the second leg in their Swedbank Stadion, which will have a noisy capacity crowd of 24,000 fans.
Deila was positive and confident as Celtic flew from Glasgow yesterday. “We are going to win this game. That’s the only thing I’m thinking of,” he said. “We are going to Malmö to win. We can talk about the positive things. We have a very, very good chance. We are good enough to do it, it’s just about going out there and doing it.
“You can write this negatively and speak only about the pressure. But we are leading 3-2. Of course, I think we’re a better team than Malmö, if I didn’t think like this we wouldn’t have a chance of making the Champions League. I am very, very positive.”
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Deila acknowledged that he was under pressure to deliver Champions League football after failing in the qualifiers last season.
“Yes, I feel pressure all the time but that’s what you have to cope with when you are a player and a manager,” he said. “But why should I sit here and be negative? I know that if we play at our best that we have a very good chance to beat Malmö. So again, it is up to us to be prepared and to be the best we can be. If you meet Real Madrid and you are the best you can be, they have to have a bad day for you to win. That is different. But here we are going to play a team that we’ll have chances to beat.”
Mikael Lustig travelled with the squad to Sweden and seemed to be moving freely despite being carried off on a stretcher with a hamstring strain in the first leg six nights ago. “We will see tomorrow if he is ready or not,” Deila said. “But we are taking him with us because he has a chance of playing.” Either Efe Ambrose or Saidy Janko will step in at right back if Lustig does not make it.
Deila was unconcerned about Virgil van Dijk’s readiness to play after speculation that he will join Southampton for £10.5 million before the end of the week. “His head is here with Celtic, that’s for sure,” the manager said. “He has played very well in the recent games and he will be very motivated going into this one. I have no worries about Virgil whatsoever.”
Key clashes
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Virgil van Dijk v Markus Rosenberg
The Dutch defender is bound for the Barclays Premier League but he could give Celtic the perfect going-away present by helping them keep a clean sheet tonight, providing £16 million in Uefa prize money on top of his £10.5 million transfer fee for the Celtic Park coffers. At 32, Rosenberg the former Werder Bremen, Racing Santander and West Bromwich Albion striker, isn’t as sharp as he was but he has still managed to notch eight Champions League goals in the past two seasons and the Malmö captain, ruled out of the first leg through suspension, will be looking to add to that tally.
Stuart Armstrong v Enoch Adu
Armstrong offers clever runs and a very real goal threat from midfield and will be fresh for the fray after being rested for Saturday’s win at Tannadice. He will do well to get the better of the Ghanaian enforcer Adu, however. The 24-year-old, who missed the first leg at Celtic Park, is being linked with a move to La Liga with Celta Vigo and snuffing out Deila’s attackers would boost his prospects of a move.
James Forrest v Yoshimar Yotun
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The Scotland winger was in white-hot form in the first leg and his pace and close control could be key when Celtic counter-attack tonight. Yotun did not enjoy the experience of facing Forrest in Glasgow and the Peru left-back will not relish the prospect of being turned inside out again on his home turf.
Leigh Griffiths v Rasmus Bengtsson
Griffiths has scored five times in six starts this season, forcing his way past new Bhoy Nadir Ciftci and back into Gordon Strachan’s Scotland squad. He scored twice against Malmö at Celtic Park and would love to get the better of Bengtsson again after the defender was one of the biggest offenders in the post-match trash talking.