Matt O'Riley believes Celtic can grab a cherished first Champions League win under Ange Postecoglou – but they might have to do without Liel Abada in Leipzig.
The Israeli star is a doubt for the trip to Germany due to religious reasons. Abada was absent from last season’s Europa League encounter against Real Betis due to Yom Kippur.
The Jewish holy day is due to begin on Tuesday and Record Sport understands a final decision on travel will be left to the 21-year-old. Celtic, who are also waiting on the injury status of Cameron Carter-Vickers, fly out in search of their first Group F success on Wednesday night when they tackle Leipzig.
O’Riley and his team-mates returned from their last trip to Poland three weeks ago against Shakhtar Donetsk frustrated their impressive display yielded just one and not three points. Having also given Real Madrid a fight for over half the contest on night one, the Dane is convinced repeat showings can earn them the right result in Leipzig.
O’Riley said: “If we perform to the levels we did against Shakhtar, we’d be confident of coming away with another positive result. We know they are a good side, but we are also a very good side. So if we are on it then, yes, we’ve got a great chance of winning the game.
“Regardless of who we play against, we always feel e can come away with a positive result. It said a lot that there was a hint of disappointment that we didn’t come away with the three points in Poland
“You can be the better team in a match and still not win. That was an example of that.
“Even against Real Madrid, for the first however many minutes, we were in my opinion the more threatening team. Due to them being a bit more clinical than us, that separated the two sides. But, if we can just tidy up on a few things, we’ve got every chance.”
Postecoglou has challenged his troops to make their first real mark on the competition. He told Celtic TV: “It’s been good, I would have enjoyed it more if we’d won, obviously, because you want to win games of football.
“But it’s just great to be performing at that level again and it’s where the club needs to be, wants to be. Now the challenge for us is to grow every time we’re out there.
“I guess for the players, that initial excitement in the first game, the buzz of being in the Champions League, particularly here at home playing against Real Madrid was fantastic, but now we’ve done that, it’s about ‘let’s make an impact at that level’.
“It doesn’t mean the challenge is getting any easier, because Leipzig away is a pretty tough challenge, but now it’s about really wanting us to be present at that stage, to be competitive at that stage and growing every time we’re out there.”
Celtic have a point more than Leipzig, whose 4-1 home defeat by Shakhtar ultimately cost Domenico Tedesco his job. His replacement, Marco Rose, has led Leipzig to two commanding home wins in the Bundesliga, against Borussia Dortmund and Bochum, either side of a 3-0 away defeat to Borussia Monchengladbach.
Postecoglou said: “They had a little bit of a disrupted start to the season. But the change of manager seems to have sparked them a little bit. All the traditional trademarks of their football are there, they’ve got a lot of speed, very dynamic and in terms of transition football very quick.”
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