The permutations and form guide you need ahead of Lazio tie

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Celtic F.C.

·27 novembre 2023

The permutations and form guide you need ahead of Lazio tie

Celtic are back in the eternal city of Rome on Tuesday for the first time since 2019 on what was a special night in the Italian capital.

The Hoops' 2-1 win in the Europa League against Lazio goes down as one of the most historic European nights in recent memory and it will be the scene with the same opponents for tonight’s Champions League tie.

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It’s the second meeting this season after defeat at Celtic Park and here we provide the lowdown ahead of the fixture.

RECENT FORM

It’s not been the season that Lazio would have expected this campaign following their second-place finish last term.

Currently, the Roman side sit 11th in the league table and are without a win in Serie A in a month.

In that time, they have lost away to Bologna, drew with Roma and then on Saturday lost 2-1 away to Salernitana.

However, in the Champions League, their victory over Feyenoord on matchday four leaves Lazio second in the table on seven points.

LAST TIME IN ROME

Who can forget November 2019? The night Celtic travelled to Rome and the Stadio Olimpico and defeated Lazio 2-1 with a last-minute winner from Olivier Ntcham.

Having defeated Lazio 2-1 at home in the previous game, Celtic knew victory in Rome would seal their place in the knockout stages of the Europa League.

Going a goal down through Ciro Immobile, Celtic recovered with James Forrest equalising and then the moment came from Ntcham to seal the first-ever competitive win for the Hoops on Italian soil.

IMMOBILE ON FORM

Not much has changed at Lazio since the meeting at Celtic Park in early October, with Ciro Immobile still the main man and continuing to fire in the goals.

Their matchday four win over Feyenoord was a 1-0 victory in Rome with the goal coming courtesy of the Italian striker who grabbed his 200th in Lazio colours with that strike.

Since the game in Glasgow, Immobile also netted the winner in a 1-0 win over Fiorentina with a goal in the 95th minute.

Even in Saturday’s defeat to Salernitana, it was Immobile who got Lazio’s goal in a 2-1 defeat, so the record goal scorer is well on fire at the moment.

WHAT DO CELTIC NEED?

Only three points will keep Celtic’s dream of European football post-Christmas alive, but even that might not be enough.

If Celtic win and Feyenoord lose to Atletico Madrid, it means Celtic will be two points behind the Dutch champions and three behind Lazio going into the final game at home against the De Kuip side.

However, if Feyenoord win then it means Celtic can't leapfrog them, and if they draw against Atletico on Tuesday it means Celtic would need to defeat the Dutch by more than two goals in Glasgow to better the head-to-head.

If Celtic win by two clear goals tonight, then that would provide a better head-to-head than Lazio and means victory over Feyenoord in December as well as a Lazio defeat would see the Hoops jump above the Italian side and potentially into the top two spots depending on Feyenoord’s result tonight.

In the most perfect world, Celtic win by two clear goals while Feyenoord lose, Celtic then defeat Feyenoord by any score and Lazio lose in the last matchday and we qualify for the knockout rounds.

There are a lot of permutations, but the crux of it is that a win is crucial, with anything less ending the European journey for this season at the group stages.