CONFIRMED! DEMBELE MAKES FIRST START

MOUSSA DEMBELE will make his first appearance for Celtic in their pre-season tour against Sparta Prague this afternoon.

The striker has sat out the previous two friendless against Vorwarts and Bohemians Prague, but will lead the attack on this occasion.

Brendan Rodgers gave the powerhouse frontman added time off after he had played for the French Under-21s during the summer break.

He will be supported up front by Odsonne Edouard, with their fellow countryman Olivier Ntcham starting in midfield alongside captain Scott Brown.

Earlier today, the Hoops recorded a 2-1 victory over BW Linz in the Stallinger Financial Planning Arena in Rohrbach, with Mikey Johnston and Scott Sinclair claiming the goals in the closed-doors match.

Team versus Sparta: Gordon; Hendry, Simunovic, Ajer, Tierney;  Brown, Ntcham; Forrest, McGregor, Edouard; Dembele. Subs: Hazard, Henderson, McInroy, R.Hendry

DON’T miss ‘Celtic: The History Bhoys’, the celebration of Brendan Rodgers’ two treble-winning seasons at the club – PLUS the clean sweep years of Jock Stein, 1966/67 and 1968/69, and Martin O’Neill, 2000/01. Buy last season’s production and get a 16-page update on the Hoops’ second successive unforgettable campaign absolutely FREE! That’s a 116-page glorious souvenir of the club’s most unforgettable seasons. Written by ALEX GORDON and crammed with over 150 photographs and all the statistics of all five of the most spectacular years in Celtic’s proud heritage. Priced at only £6.95 plus £3.95 postage and packing, you can order your copy at:

http://www.langsyneshop.co.uk/celtic-the-history-bhoys?filter_name=History%20bhoys