Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou is facing a massive defensive crisis against one of Europe's deadliest attacking sides as the Scottish champions prepare for Real Madrid.
Stand-in captain Cameron Carter-Vickers will miss the Champions League group stage finale after the America cap picked up a knock during last weekend's Scottish Premiership showdown with Livingston. That leaves Moritz Jenz as the only recognised centre-back who has featured for Celtic in the past two months, but defensive duo Carl Starfelt and Stephen Welsh are pushing for returns.
Both players trained at Celtic Park before jetting off to Madrid, and Postecoglou could be forced to roll the dice with the fitness of the duo inside the Bernabeu against the European champions. The Swede has not featured since limping off during the 4-0 rout of Rangers but could bring much-needed experience to the backline that could face off against Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema, after Carlo Ancelotti revealed the striker has ramped up his fitness at training this week.
Callum McGregor will miss out on Celtic's final European fixture of the season as he continues his knee recovery behind the scenes. However, Jota could be handed a start having made a scoring return off the bench on Sunday.
Postecoglou also faces a big call over who will lead the line. Giorgos Giakoumakis has enjoyed an impressive run of form this term, but Kyogo will likely get the chance to bounce back from his World Cup call up disappointment against Real.
Predicted Celtic XI
Provisional Celtic squad
*Joe Hart
*Benjamin Siegrist
*Scott Bain
*Josip Juranovic
*Anthony Ralston
*Moritz Jenz
*Stephen Welsh
*Carl Starfelt
*Greg Taylor
*Alexandro Bernabei
*Matt O'Riley
*Aaron Mooy
*James McCarthy
*Yosuke Ideguchi
*Oliver Abildgaard
*Reo Hatate
*David Turnbull
*Sead Haksabanovic
*Jota
*Liel Abada
*James Forrest
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