The Celtic star with 4 assists is now nowhere near Rangers’ starting XI

A good night at the end of Celtic, despite the damage done last week, the Scottish champions are again out of the qualifying round of the European competition.

Germany were the heart of the Hoops’ Champions League last year, replaced at the death by Bayern Munich, although at least they won the second leg this time in the Europa League.

Trailing 4-1 following last week’s horror performance at Parkhead, Martin O’Neill’s men got off to the best start in Stuttgart, with a much-changed side taking the lead within a minute through Luke McCowan.

Despite that early scare, the Bundesliga side were in control from then on, however, and the visitors never looked like going back.

In fact, the result of the first leg ensured that Sunday’s derby would also be a big game, although Thursday’s game at least gave O’Neill some food for thought on the trip to Ibrox.

Why Celtic’s stalwarts are now in contention for an Ibrox debut

With such an important game on the horizon, O’Neill has opted to shuffle his pack in Stuttgart, with Callum McGregor, Yang Hyun-Jun and the suspended Auston Trusty the only players to lose to Hibernian.

Those changes have no doubt been made to give Sunday’s starters a rest, although O’Neill may have suffered a welcome headache in preparation for the Rangers clash, with a host of ‘fringe’ players all stepping up.

In goal, Viljami Sinisalo has more than made his case to replace Kasper Schmeichel, who has been sidelined for good, while ahead of him, young Dane Murray was a full-back, no doubt looking to be the man to shut down Trusty at home.

While a move ahead of Kieran Tierney seems unlikely at the moment, it has proved another good outing for left-back Marcelo Saracchi, as has the aforementioned McCowan in that number ten.

18-goal hero Benjamin Nygren looks a shoo-in to start against Danny Rohl’s men, although McCowan will keep him close, with the former Dundee player ending a big Celtic move with a finish from the far corner.

The Scot scored a well-weighted pass from January arrival, Junior Adamu, with a brilliant performance from the Austrian striker that changed any potential plans on Sunday.

A player who entered the Celtic area played for himself outside of the derby

A hero in the Scottish Cup against Dundee, Adamu was tied at half-time against Kilmarnock, although he didn’t embarrass himself at Rugby Park, holding his man brilliantly at one point to set up Daizen Maeda.

Against Stuttgart again, the 24-year-old performed impressively after the former Freiburg loanee returned to Germany, adding to his assist by winning five duels on the night, while completing 100% of his dribble attempts.

The former Red Bulls Salzburg man didn’t even come off the bench against Hibs, although his performance on Thursday night could have seen him overtake centre-forward Tomas Cvancara, with the Czech striker coming off the bench.

Having previously been substituted on the hour mark at the weekend, Cvancara did not make the most of his chances of starting at Ibrox following a disappointing start this time around, proving ineffective as Celtic chased a second-half comeback.

The 25-year-old, unlike Adamu, has struggled to provide a focal point, with his lack of grip evident in the way he lost the ball nine times in his 16 touches, an average of once every 1.7 touches.

And recording a measly 40% pass accuracy rate, the 6 foot 3 forward looks out of hand, never looking like the man to start any of O’Neil’s men of late.

Indeed, the best opening of the second half came from his substitute partner, Kelechi Iheanacho, and the returning Nigerian joined Sebastian Tounekti following a run through the home defence.

With Iheanacho now also in the starting line-up again, and Adamu looking brilliant in the first half, Cvancara must be fearing the worst going into Sunday.

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