CELTIC will take on Sparta Prague at home this Thursday night on matchday three of the UEFA Europa League group-stage. Neil Lennon’s side, on the back of an impressive performance last week in France against Lille when they drew 2-2, will be aiming to take all three points in what is the first part of a double-header against their Czech opponents.

They are facing a Sparta side who have not played a domestic game in over a month, while they will also be missing some key players, all of which is due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Following the declaration of a state of emergency in the Czech Republic at the beginning of October, all football was banned with the exception of Champions League and Europa League matches. As a result, Sparta Prague have played just two matches since October 3 – losing 4-1 at home to Lille and 3-0 away to AC Milan.

Neil Lennon has some sympathy for Sparta, having had to deal with COVID-related issues with his own squad following the most recent round of international fixtures.

His focus, however, is on ensuring his Celtic squad are ready for Thursday night’s match against an opponent he still believes will be dangerous.

“We’re not taking the game for granted,” Neil Lennon said. “We’ll be very, very strong going into the game and we’re hoping for a positive result, no matter who’s in the opposition.

“We know that if we can get a positive result on Thursday night, it puts us in a decent position again, and obviously, Milan and Lille are playing each other.

“I’ve got sympathy for Sparta. We’ve been through it ourselves and it’s not an easy thing to deal with as a coach, because sometimes these things are out of your control, but in terms of ourselves, we’re looking forward to the game on the back of a very good win at the weekend.

“From Sparta’s point of view, the lack of games is difficult. It’s very hard to get any sort of rhythm, but we still respect that they’re an excellent side and we’ve probably not seen the best of them yet in the group.”

Celtic will head out to the Czech Republic later this month for the second part of the double-header, and the Hoops boss is looking to take maximum points from the two games, which would put the Hoops right in the mix alongside AC Milan and Lille for one of the top-two places in Group H which would mean further progress in the tournament.

“We’ve taken one point from six so far, so we’ve got a bit of catching up to do,” he said. “We’ll try and look for maximum points from both games but, if not, we take four and take our chances in the last two games, and I think we’re capable of taking points off both AC Milan and Lille.

“In terms of opening the group up for us, it’s important that we win the game tomorrow and take the three points.”

Celtic still have a number of absentees for the game. Mikey Johnston is back in training but is still a bit away from returning to the matchday squad. Kris Ajer will hopefully resume training shortly, while Chris Jullien won’t be back until after the international break. And James Forrest could be out for a considerable time longer after undergoing surgery on his foot yesterday.

Neil Lennon: Our focus is on getting three points against Sparta