Night without usual expectations for Celtic

There are many reasons for Lazio to be confident tonight.  They have won all of their three Serie A games since visiting Celtic Park three weeks ago.  Those nine points put them in a Champions League qualification position; these are heady times for the Rome club.

Their three Europa League group games have had a strange symmetry: the away team opened the scoring but the home team won 2-1 on each occasion, leaving Lazio with three points from three games, but with home games against nearest challengers, Celtic and Cluj to come.  Only a win tonight will leave the home team with a realistic chance of qualifying for the knock out rounds.

For Neil Lennon and the Celtic players, this feels like a night without the usual expectations.  Few realistically expect a Celtic win and the consequences of a reversal are limited.  Celtic could lose, but still win the group, never mind qualify.

Beyond the result, we want to see Celtic perform technically well.  We need to be able to compete away from home at this level.  That, in itself, is an objective.