I think the standout tie is probably Celtic v Elfsborg.
The first leg in Celtic Park on Wednesday night.
Rocko, does the competition theme tune get played before these games?
[quote=“Bandage, post: 808321, member: 9”]I think the standout tie is probably Celtic v Elfsborg.
The first leg in Celtic Park on Wednesday night.
Rocko, does the competition theme tune get played before these games?[/quote]
where do we stand on Elfsborg Bandage , Malmo certainly probably ensured Billy Fenlon is fired from that disgusting Edinburgh cesspit before the season starts, can we see Elfsborg scoring 7 at Celtic Park?
Maccabi Tel Aviv are in Basle tomorrow night, Paolo Sousa reckons Maccabi will win the game but i wouldnt be confident of them getting something out there, i do fancy Maccabi strongly in the tie overall. if the tie is alive i think theyll beat Basle in Tel Aviv in the return leg. There may be a bit of controversy next week as Basle’s two Egyptian internationals are refusing to enter Israel or some shite… we’ll see
Not sure what to make of this tie, mickee321. We played the Swedish champions Helsingborg a round later last season and looked a bit undercooked in the first leg over there. They play summer football so there’s the match sharpness advantage to them and this tie is even earlier than last season. But we still got through relatively comfortably on aggregate last year and we have Georgios Samaras so I’m confident enough.
agreed the samaras factor is huge , Trabzonspor tho put the summer football myth to bed by knocking out Derry, actually Stewie byrne made a few great points on summer football on the LOI show on off the ball last wednesday night about how it dosent really benifit clubs that much in the long run , worth a listen,
[quote=“Bandage, post: 808321, member: 9”]I think the standout tie is probably Celtic v Elfsborg.
The first leg in Celtic Park on Wednesday night.
Rocko, does the competition theme tune get played before these games?[/quote]
Broadcast rights, corporate sponsorship and the official matchday anthem kick in from the next round. This is still just a qualifier.
Matthews, Mulgrew, Ledley - IN.
van Dijk - OUT.
Boerrigter - IN pending successful completion of his medical.
What’s your team so Bandage?
Forster
Lustig Ambrose Wilson Izzy
Forrest Brown Ledley Samaras
Commons
Stokes
is the most likely starting lineup for me. I can’t find see how to squeeze Mulgrew in there unless Stokes, Samaras or Commons drop out and Mulgrew plays midfield. I guess if Ledley isn’t match fit he could play there but Mulgrew is unlikely to be fitter. I’d probably play him ahead of Ambrose but I don’t think that will happen.
Rocko, I’d like to see Mulgrew play at centre back instead of Ambrose but I think he’s more likely to feature in midfield. Actually, the last time we had nearly everybody fit was the cup final and Lennon finally dropped Ambrose and restored Mulgrew to centre back. But Mulgrew played a full half on Saturday, while Ledley only got the last 25-30 minutes. So even though Ledley did well in that little cameo, I think we might see Mulgrew in midfield and Ledley on the bench. I guess Boerrigter will be included in the subs given his lack of familiarity with our set up and personnel.
Bangura is set to play for them, despite being on loan from us.
[quote=“Bandage, post: 809507, member: 9”]
Bangura is set to play for them, despite being on loan from us.[/quote]
Should we really care given how dreadful he is?
Don’t go jinxing it.
I just tweeted Neil to wish him luck for the season. We’d be close enough.
mickee321, your thoughts on Basel 1-0 Maccabi Tel Aviv?
PAOK Thessaloniki got turned over 2-0 at home by Metalist Kharkiv. 
Narrow 1-0 home win for Lyon against Grasshoppers.
[quote=“Bandage, post: 809542, member: 9”]mickee321, your thoughts on Basel 1-0 Maccabi Tel Aviv?
PAOK Thessaloniki got turned over 2-0 at home by Metalist Kharkiv.
Narrow 1-0 home win for Lyon against Grasshoppers.[/quote]
Does Liam Lawrence still play for PAOK?
anyway, i watched Basel and Maccabi, in the first half Basel dominated and you could see that Maccabi were really having diffiulty getting up to speed with the physicality and pace of Basel, The Swiss are a big strong side playing very organised , disciplined, low risk football and were worth their lead at the break.
The second half Basle just refused to come at maccabi and sat back, Eran Zehavi and Rade Prica could have scored and id imagine Paolo Sousa is perfectly happy taking this back to Israel at 0-1.
Basel are nothing special, arguably their most influential player Mohamed Salah from Egypt is refusing to play next week in the return leg, maccabi are in with a serious chance here and ive already backed them to get thru this
Yep still at PAOK
The Celtic game tomorrow night is not being televised as the club decided not to sell the TV rights to ensure a large attendance. I urge you all to get along to Celtic Park to cheer on the only remaining Irish team left in this season’s competition in person.
[SIZE=6][FONT=Francois One][SIZE=22px]MATCH PREVIEW: AN ELFSBORG POINT OF VIEW [/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=13px][FONT=Droid Sans]Elfsborg won the Swedish Allsvenskan last year following a dramatic end to the campaign, we sealed the title on the last game of the season and therefore found ourselves with the chance to qualify to the Champions League for the only the second time in our history. Our first outing was in 2007, when managed to reach the playoff round, and faced Spanish side Valencia. The first leg away at Valencia’s Mestalla resulted in 3-0 defeat – game were we failed to hit a single shot on target. Instead we landed in the the group stage of Europa League following our exit, which is still our greatest achievement in Europe. In 2007, we had no experience of European football and everything was a first for us and therefore the results weren’t particularly great. We have learned an awful lot since that game at Mestalla and have played consistently in Europe every year since 2007, with a few good results along with one or two less memorable results. We managed a solid win against Braga, as well as a home victory over Lazio and played well over two legs game against Napoli, but at the same time we have also managed to lose on aggregate against teams like, St Patricks, AC Horsen and Ålesund.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=13px][FONT=Droid Sans]Our most famous player is Anders Svensson. Svensson is two international caps away from breaking the all time record for most caps in Swedish football history. He has a lot of experience from the national team and knows what it takes to beat a great team like Celtic. He might getting older but he is still a very good captain and combative midfielder.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=13px][FONT=Droid Sans]Another player who most perform at his best is our goalkeeper from Denmark, Kevin Stuhr Ellegaard. He come to us before last season but he has already become a favourite among the supporters. He is a decent goalkeeper but to beat you, he probably need to step up a few step and make two of his best games in his career.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=13px][FONT=Droid Sans]We have a pretty good mix of players in our team, we have some really experienced guys like Svensson, Stefan Ishizaki, Henning Hauger and Lars Nilsson, but at the same time we also have some young guys who are playing really well at the moment. Johan Larsson, Niklas Hult, Markus Rhodén and Sebastian Holmén, younger brother of Samuel Holmén who just signed for Fenerbache and also plays for the national team. They all have all the potential to play for bigger clubs in Europe in the not so distant future.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=13px][FONT=Droid Sans]Elfsborg have always been known for playing “positive” football, passing the ball and playing with an attacking minded philosophy. Since Jörgen Lennartsson arrived before last season, we have changed our style of play to a more cynical football, especially away from home. Most games we line up with an 4-4-2 formation, but we are not particularly a “kick and run” team although we’re not afraid of hoofing the ball up to our strikers – we may be guilty of doing that little to much in my opinion.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=13px][FONT=Droid Sans]Our form at the moment is can only be described as horrible. We had only managed to six points out of the last six games which for us is terrible, especially because four of these games have been at home to mid table teams. Our defence has struggled a lot and that is our biggest weakness at the moment. If Elfsborg’s defence struggles against teams in the bottom table of our league, I’m quite scared of how it will be against Celtic…[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=13px][FONT=Droid Sans]We believe we have a fair chance of knocking Celtic out of Champions League but of Celtic are undoubtedly big favourites. We need to play the best two games of our season to beat Celtic and with our recent form there is a big question mark if we can perform to that level at the current moment. Most Elfsborg fans watched Helsingborg play against Celtic, since which of course you have lost arguably two of your best players in Wanyama and Hooper, so there is a slim chance that we may be able beat Celtic after all. If we can nick a decent result at Celtic Park we have a good chance to advance to the next stage because we are a really good team at home on our artificial grass pitch.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=13px][FONT=Droid Sans]Regarding the outcome of this clash I very much look forward to travel to Celtic Park and going head to head with one of the most famous club in Europe! I’m looking forward to two good games of football and hopefully a good result for us![/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=13px][FONT=Droid Sans]Welcome to BorĂĄs![/FONT][/SIZE]
Stefan Ishizaki! I always signed him on Championship Manager back in the day.
Any chance of a stream becoming available for tonight’s match, buddies?
Celtic are unchanged from the Cliftonville ties. Matthews, Mulgrew and Ledley return to the bench.
Forster,
Lustig, Ambrose, Wilson, Izaguirre,
Brown, Kayal,
Forrest, Commons, Samaras,
Stokes.
Bit disappointed to see Kayal and Ambrose there but Ledley and Mulgrew are lacking in match time so it is understandable.