LASK vs Celtic: Team News and Stakes in UEFA Clash

Tuesday night in Linz offers LASK a mountain, not a hill. Three goals down from the first leg, they return to the Raiffeisen Arena knowing this has to be close to perfect. Celtic arrive with one foot already in the UEFA Champions League group stage, but with just enough uncertainty in their lineup to keep the tie alive.

Kick-off is at 8pm BST. The atmosphere will need to do as much work as the players.

LASK: Full Strength, Backs to the Wall

For Dietmar Kühbauer, the good news is simple: no new injuries, no fresh excuses.

The LASK boss came through that bruising night at Celtic Park without further damage to his squad. He can lean on his strongest core again, with the only major absentee still forward Ramiz Harakaté, sidelined long term after an ACL tear. Harakaté’s loss has been a constant backdrop, but it’s not new. This group already knows how to live without him.

Kühbauer is expected to stick to his familiar 3-5-2, a structure built to keep Celtic’s wide threats under control. Xavier Mbuyamba, Alemão and Andrés Andrade are set to form the back three, a unit tasked with shutting down Celtic’s wingers and giving LASK a platform to push on.

The plan, though, won’t be conservative for long. With a three-goal deficit hanging over them, LASK are ready to flip the switch after the break if the tie demands it. Club sources indicate an aggressive second-half shift: more attackers, more risk, and a clear acceptance that this might turn into a chase for quick-fire goals rather than a slow, controlled performance.

Celtic: Illness, Injuries and a Makeshift Backline

Martin O’Neill has the advantage on the scoreboard, but not in the treatment room.

Centre-back Auston Trusty missed the final training session with a stomach illness, leaving his involvement in serious doubt. Liam Scales is on standby to step in alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers at the heart of the defence, a pairing that may have to gel quickly in a hostile away leg.

Out wide, Celtic are stretched. First-choice right-back Alistair Johnston is out until October with a hamstring injury, so Colby Donovan is primed to fill in again. On the opposite flank, Kieran Tierney is expected to feature as part of a backline that has a patched-together feel despite the team’s strong early-season form.

Celtic’s problems don’t stop there. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is suspended, removing a key midfield and attacking option, while Jota remains a long-term absentee as he continues his recovery from a serious cruciate ligament injury. That’s creativity, experience and goals missing from O’Neill’s front line.

Between the posts, Viljami Sinisalo is tipped to start, protected by that makeshift defence. It’s a unit that has barely been tested this season. LASK will try to change that quickly.

Form Guide: Domestic Dominance, European Reality

LASK come into this with their domestic confidence intact. They have won all four of their competitive matches at home and in the cup, scoring heavily and conceding little. In the Austrian Bundesliga, they swept aside Grazer AK 3-0, Austria Wien 2-0 and SV Ried 4-1, and they hammered their Austrian Cup opponents 7-0.

Then they ran into Celtic in Glasgow.

The 3-0 defeat in the first leg snapped that perfect start and exposed the gulf they must now bridge. The challenge in Linz is to rediscover their domestic swagger against a side that has so far looked a level above.

Celtic, under O’Neill, have been ruthless. Four games, four wins, 13 goals scored and just one conceded. They edged Dundee FC 1-0, then dismantled Kilmarnock 5-1 in the Premiership. In the League Cup, they swept Dundee United aside 4-0, before that commanding 3-0 win over LASK in Glasgow put them in control of this tie.

The numbers say Celtic are flying. The scoreboard says they are almost there. But European away nights have a habit of ignoring form sheets.

Predicted Lineups

LASK (3-5-2):
Jungwirth; Mbuyamba, Alemao, Andrade; Jorgensen, Danek, Ljubicic, Horvath, Bello; Usor, Adeniran

Celtic (4-3-3):
Sinisalo; Donovan, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Tierney; Nygren, McGregor, Baur; Duran, Hogh, Hyun-Jun

Kühbauer’s shape is clear: three at the back, energy in midfield, and Usor and Adeniran asked to turn half-chances into lifelines. O’Neill’s side, even with absences, still looks balanced, with Callum McGregor expected to dictate tempo and Hyun-Jun offering penetration in the final third.

How to Watch

In the UK, the UEFA Champions League play-off second leg between LASK Linz and Celtic will be shown live and exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.

Three goals separate them. Ninety minutes remain. Is this the night LASK turn their stadium into a cauldron and drag the tie back to life, or will Celtic’s early-season surge carry them calmly into the group stage?