LASK vs Celtic: Team News and Stakes in Linz

Tuesday night in Linz carries a simple equation for LASK: score early, score often, or watch the Champions League dream disappear.

Celtic arrive with a 3-0 first-leg lead and the comfort of form, but not the comfort of a fully fit squad. The Raiffeisen Arena will be loud, edgy and impatient. LASK need chaos. Celtic will try to smother it.

LASK: Full Strength, Backs to the Wall

For Dietmar Kühbauer, the situation is brutal but at least it’s clear. His team must overturn a three-goal deficit, yet he goes into the second leg with a settled group and no fresh injuries from the bruising night at Celtic Park.

The only significant absentee is long-term. Forward Ramiz Harakaté remains completely sidelined with an ACL tear and will play no part in this tie or any time soon.

Tactically, Kühbauer is expected to stay loyal to his 3-5-2 framework from the start. Xavier Mbuyamba, Alemão and Andrés Andrade should again form the back three tasked with shutting down Celtic’s wide threats and preventing the tie from being killed early.

The plan, though, cannot be conservative for long. Club sources suggest LASK will be ready to flip the switch after the break, throwing on extra attacking options if the goals don’t come quickly. If they’re still chasing the game deep into the second half, that rigid 3-5-2 will likely morph into something far more daring.

Predicted XI: LASK: Jungwirth; Mbuyamba, Alemao, Andrade; Jorgensen, Danek, Ljubicic, Horvath, Bello; Usor, Adeniran

Celtic: Strong Position, Stretched Squad

Martin O’Neill has the scoreboard advantage. His team also has the form. What he doesn’t quite have is a clean bill of health.

At centre-back, Auston Trusty missed the final training session with a stomach illness, leaving him a major doubt for the trip to Austria. Liam Scales stands ready to step in alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers at the heart of the defence if Trusty cannot start.

The problems are sharper in the full-back areas. First-choice right-back Alistair Johnston is ruled out until October after a hamstring injury, so Colby Donovan is expected to continue deputising on that flank. On the opposite side, Kieran Tierney should feature as part of a reshaped backline in front of Viljami Sinisalo, who is tipped to keep his place in goal.

Celtic’s midfield and attack are not untouched either. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is suspended, removing a creative and experienced option between the lines, while Portuguese winger Jota remains a long-term absentee as he works his way back from a serious cruciate ligament injury.

Even with those issues, O’Neill can still call on a side full of energy and goals.

Predicted XI: Celtic: Sinisalo; Donovan, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Tierney; Nygren, McGregor, Baur; Duran, Hogh, Hyun-Jun

Form Guide: LASK Flying at Home, Celtic Relentless

Domestically, LASK are flying. Four competitive wins out of four in Austria tell the story of a side that usually controls its surroundings.

They opened their Bundesliga campaign with three straight victories: a 3-0 win over Grazer AK, a 2-0 success against Austria Wien and a 4-1 dismantling of SV Ried. Add a 7-0 rout in the Austrian Cup and you have a team that knows how to overwhelm weaker opposition.

Then came Glasgow. Celtic’s 3-0 first-leg win snapped that perfect start and exposed the gap LASK must now close in one frantic night.

Celtic’s own form is even more emphatic. Under O’Neill, they have won all four of their competitive matches this season, scoring 13 and conceding just once. The numbers are ruthless: a 1-0 win over Dundee FC, a 5-1 demolition of Kilmarnock in the Premiership, a 4-0 beating of Dundee United in the League Cup, and that commanding 3-0 victory over LASK in the first leg.

One team is clinging to its domestic momentum, desperate to translate it to Europe. The other is already playing like a side that expects to be in the Champions League group stage.

Where to Watch

For viewers in the UK, the UEFA Champions League play-off second leg between LASK Linz and Celtic will be shown live and exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.

LASK need the night of their lives. Celtic just need to finish the job.