Celtic v Dinamo Moscow – Preview

Celtic begin their quest for a fourth successive Champions League group stage appearance with a tough third round qualifier against Dinamo Moscow at Parkhead on Wednesday. Thus far, Celtic’s pre-season preparations have gone according to plan, with four clean sheets and victory in the Wembley Cup.

The positives that can be taken from these matches have been a chance to bed new signings Marc-Antoine Fortune, Landry N’Guemo, Danny Fox and Lukasz Zaluska into the side. A return to form for Chris Killen and Massimo Donati has also been a welcome bonus.

The match itself will be Tony Mowbray’s first competitive game in charge and he couldn’t ask for a more important game in which to get his tenure underway. The tie represents the first of two qualifying rounds Celtic will need to negotiate to earn Champions League status – by far the most difficult route they’ve ever faced.

With so much at stake, expect Mowbray to deploy a conventional 4-4-2 formation, with as much experience as he can muster. Boruc will be in goal and with captain, Stephen McManus injured, the back four should read Hinkel, Caldwell, Loovens and Naylor.

Barry Robson remains sidelined and the game may come just too soon for Scott Brown, which leaves Celtic light in midfield, so N’Guemo should make his debut alongside Crosas or Donati in the middle. With Nakamura departed for Spain, a lot will rest on the shoulders of McGeady and Maloney, who’ll supply a strikeforce of McDonald and Fortune. If Celtic need goals late on expect to see Samaras and Killen arrive from the bench.

Dinamo represent a rather unknown factor after qualifying for the competition by finishing third in the Russian Premier Division last season. Two years ago, Celtic overcame Spartak Moscow in a classic Celtic Park penalty shoot-out, but Dinamo cannot be placed on the same level as their neighbours.They currently lie fourth in this seasons Russian Premier and played out a 1-1 derby draw with Lokomotiv Moscow at the weekend – a game that was watched by Tony Mowbray. After 15 rounds of domestic matches, Celtic can expect their opponents to be much more up to scratch in the fitness department. However, Celtic did receive a surprise boost when it emerged Dinamo captain, Dmitri Khokhlov, will be suspended for the first leg for a sending off he received for a previous club.

With the host’s dire European form away from home bound to give the Moscow side inspiration for the return leg, it is essential that Celtic win this game without the concession of an away goal. The faithful will need to play their part by making as much noise as possible and turning Parkhead into a European cauldron, the likes of which the Dinamo players have most likely never seen. However, with Celtic behind their opponents in terms of sharpness and Dinamo likely to keep as many men as possible behind the ball, expect this to be a tight affair.

Prediction: Celtic 1 Dinamo Moscow 0