Celtic’s 6-2 defeat at the hands of West Ham United must have given Ange Postecoglou a lot to think about heading into the second leg of their UEFA Champions League second round qualifier against FC Midtjylland.
The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw, although the Hoops appeared to be the better team for the majority of the game. As a result, while there is reason to be confident going into the second leg, there is reason to be worried as well, especially regarding the defence.
They just conceded 6 goals against West Ham United. And although it is important not to look too much into the results of pre-season friendlies, there is no denying that defence has been a worry for the Hoops for a while.
Two players who were missing from the squad in the West Ham United game were Albian Ajeti and Olivier Ntcham. As reported by The Sunday Post [24/07 print edition, Post Match supplement page 2] (via 67 Hail Hail), Postecoglou said:
"“The West Ham result makes no difference to my confidence ahead of Wednesday.“We knew it was going to be a tough challenge going over there. We saw in the first leg that we played well but it was still a tight contest. It will be the same in the second leg.“We’ve got a clean bill of health tonight so everyone will be fit and available. Ajeti had a little knock so missed out and Ntcham just wasn’t ready.”"
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Celtic have a tough task on their hands
While more signings are expected to be made over the summer, it is safe to say that Postecoglou named pretty much his strongest starting XI at the moment against West Ham United. And it is hard to see him being able to make many changes to the defence against FC Midtjylland.
One the biggest decisions going into the game will also be surrounding the goalkeeper. After a promising start to pre-season, Vasilis Barkas has made mistakes in his last couple of games. Now, it remains to be if Postecoglou will decide to continue with him in goal or make a change.
Regarding the two absentees from the West Ham United game, Ajeti made a good start to pre-season and it remains to be seen if he can find his scoring boots under the new manager this season. On the other hand, a summer exit could very well be on the cards for Ntcham.