Celtic face AEK Athens tonight in their Champions League qualifying tie.
Ex-Celtic star John Hartson urged Brendan Rodgers to start Moussa Dembele for tonight’s clash with AEK Athens in the second leg of their Champions League qualifying tie, when writing a column for the Glasgow Evening Times.
The 22-year-old has missed the last five games through injury, but he has travelled out to Greece with the Hoops.
Dembele joined the Glasgow giants from Fulham way back in the summer of 2016, and he has gone on to become a real hit at Parkhead, scoring 50 goals in 90 appearances in all competitions for Brendan Rodgers’ side.
Celtic drew their first leg clash with AEK 1-1, so they will need to score at least once tonight, if they are to have any chance whatsoever of progressing through to the next stage of the competition.
Hartson, who scored 109 goals for the Hoops, urged Rodgers to start Dembele tonight, highlighting how important the Frenchman is to his side’s chances of winning the game, when writing a column for the Glasgow Evening Times:
“The Frenchman has travelled with Celtic which must mean his hamstring is good and so, for me, he is in the starting eleven alongside Odsonne Edouard. Dembele is a big player for Celtic. This is huge night for the club. Ergo, he plays if fit.”
With Celtic in desperate need of a goal tonight, it would be no surprise to see Rodgers start Dembele, but considering the fact that the 22-year-old hasn’t played since July 18th, he might just have to make do with a place on the bench.
And if that turns out to be the case, he would be a great player to bring on later on in the game, if Celtic need a goal.
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