CELTIC would have their work cut out getting a result against a Bayern Munich side which can field the likes of Arjen Robben, Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller in advanced positions even with their first choice centre back pairing available this evening.
Not having the Bosnia and Herzegovina defender, who was conspicuous by his absence as the Scottish champions jetted out of Glasgow yesterday, available is undoubtedly a setback for Brendan Rodgers.
Having to reshuffle his backline in the opening Group B match against Paris Saint-Germain last month in the absence of the injured Dedryck Boyata proved disastrous for the Northern Irishman.
The French club, who fielded Edison Cavani, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar up front, ran amok at Parkhead and administered a 5-0 defeat which was the worst result their hosts had suffered at home in over a century.
None of the options available to Rodgers are particularly attractive. He can move Mikael Lustig from right back into the heart of his rearguard and be confident of the vastly experienced Swede performing well there. But he then has a problem out wide.
Cristian Gamboa, who played in the 1-0 win over Dundee in a Ladbrokes Premiership game at Celtic Park on Saturday, could come in and deputise. But the Costa Rican internationalist has only played in three games in the 2017/18 campaign and only one for his club. It would be asking a lot of him pitching him into a game of this magnitude.
As it would of young Anthony Ralston. The teenager performed admirably in hugely demanding circumstances against PSG. He is a talented player with a big future ahead of him. However, at this rarefied level at this particular moment in time he can’t be relied upon.
Elsewhere, Nir Bitton, the central midfielder who has performed with aplomb at the back, including at the weekend when he helped Celtic keep another clean sheet, could be asked to partner Boyata.
But it was one thing for the Israeli to keep AJ Leitch-Smith at bay in a league game at Parkhead it is quite another repelling Lewandowski and Muller in a Champions League match in the Allianz Arena.
Erik Sviatchenko, too, could be brought in from the cold. But the Dane has also been sidelined this term and last played in the European qualifier against Rosenborg at the start of August. Even then, it was only for a paltry 25 minutes.
Read more: Stewart Fisher: Why can't Brendan Rodgers manage Scotland as well as Celtic?
The predicament which Rodgers faces has led to inevitable demands to know why he didn’t strengthen his squad with another specialist in what is something of a problem position for the treble winners. Boyata, Simunovic and Sviatchenko are hardly strangers to the treatment table at Lennoxtown.
Yet, even if Rodgers had Simunovic at his disposal it would be asking a huge amount of them to get a result, even a draw, against Jupp Heynckes charges this evening.
Hopes of Celtic emulating their heroics of the 2006/07, 2007/08 and 2012/13 seasons and qualifying for the knockout rounds of Europe’s premier club competition were raised by a 3-0 win over Anderlecht in their second game in Belgium last month.
But the difference in spending power between a club who are not known as “FC Hollywood” for no reason and their opponents is vast and widening all the time.
Celtic couldn’t reasonably be expected to get a result even with a full-strength side on the park this evening.
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