LEIGH Griffiths could be set to start for Celtic this evening as Brendan Rodgers weighs up a striking dilemma for the club’s crunch tie with Rosenborg.
The Scotland internationalist travelled with the Scottish champions to Trondheim yesterday afternoon after being rested with a calf injury for the weekend’s 5-0 hammering of Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, a game Callum McGregor scored a hat-trick in with James Forrest playing as a central forward.
Now with the Champions League third round qualifier with Rosenborg poised at 0-0, one solitary goal could be enough to take Celtic to within 180 minutes of a return to the group stages of the competition.
Understandably it’s a decision Rodgers is not taking lightly, but with the Celtic manager believing their hosts will not come out of their shells as the game progresses, Griffiths may well be thrown back in to the starting line-up to give his side a priceless early away goal to hold on to.
“You are weighing up both,” said Rodgers of his decision over the 26-year-old. “Does he play 60 minutes and then come off? Or do you put him on to make an impact later in the game when it is stretched and there is space?
“I haven’t spoken to him. I just need to know he is available. I said to both boys [Griffiths and Erik Sviatchenko] they have done well to push themselves to make themselves available. They both feel fine and ready for the team.
“They are professional players. They get their money paid into the bank every month to play. So I don’t need to find out if they want to play or not.
“The most important thing is that both boys are ready to play a part for us at some point.
“We had 800-odd passes in the first leg. I don’t think Rosenborg will open up too much here. If a team opens up against us, we have the quality in our game to score goals.
“We know we can score and there will be an impetus on the home team to come out a little bit more.”
The offer of a semi-fit Griffiths would surely have been grabbed by Rodgers on the back of a frustrating night against the Tippeligaen champions last Wednesday. Despite holding the bulk of possession, just two shots were fired successfully at Andre Hansen’s goal. The same problem could not be said for poor Sunderland goalkeeper Jason Steele who had to pick the ball out of his net on Saturday five times as a front quartet of Forrest, McGregor, Scott Sinclair and Jonny Hayes ran riot.
When asked about the prospect of McGregor and Forrest getting the nod instead of Griffiths, Rodgers said: “Both boys did great at Sunderland. James has played as a striker before. He’s more natural than any of the wide boys who have played there. With his back to goal, he’s a got a great turn where he can move the ball off his touch.
“Callum doesn’t need to prove anything to me. He’s been a fantastic player who has grown in confidence in my time here. He could have scored four at the weekend.
“We are a team which likes to break a line, whether it’s through a pass, a dribble or someone running in behind. He gives us that. He has the ability to do all those things.”
Rodgers, meanwhile, has said he will review travel arrangements after his team appeared to be verbally abused at Glasgow Airport.
Griffiths appeared to react to a comment made from a holidaymaker in the check-in queue next to where the Hoops squad picked up their boarding passes for the trip to Norway.
The person appeared to shout an obscenity and Griffiths was heard to say, “you’re team’s deid mate, beat it.”
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