NEIL LENNON dodged talk of who are the favourites in Group E after the Rennes manager claimed Celtic and Lazio were seen as the top two to go through.
There’s no way Julien Stéphan believes what he told the press and is likely just trying to gain an edge with mind games early on. The fact is Rennes have perhaps the strongest squad in the group and Celtic will be doing well to compete, especially in France this evening.
The Celtic manager was very diplomatic when it came to who he thinks could be the runaway leaders. Lennon talked up all four sides and told the Rennes boss not to discount Cluj after Celtic’s run-in with the Romanian’s earlier this season.
“I don’t have an opinion on who the favourites in the group are. I think you’ve got four very good teams. Cluj managed to knock us out of the Champions League qualifiers, so they can’t be discounted from the group.” Lennon told CelticTV.
“Rennes, of course, have made a fantastic start. They’re cup winners here. Lazio are a team of European pedigree and one of the best teams in Serie A.
“Ourselves, we’ve had great domestic success in the last three or four years in Scotland. For me the group is open, I think all teams will be looking to have a say in the group and hope they qualify. I’m not convinced who the favourites really are.”
It’s a tough group, but a competitive group. Celtic are capable of taking points off all three teams but they’re also capable of losing points against all three teams. It promises to be an exciting Euro campaign in the lead up to Christmas.
The end game is qualification in the group and that means being one of the top two sides i
