Celtic are back in European action again this evening as they prepare to take on Red Star Belgrade away from Parkhead in the Europa League.
The Hoops are not in the European competition that they were aiming to compete in because they were beaten by Kairat on penalties to knock them out of the Champions League.
The drop down to the Europa League does, though, provide the Scottish Premiership champions with a greater chance of progressing to the latter stages and, potentially, winning the entire thing.
Rangers, of course, reached the final of the competition and only lost on penalties to Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022, which shows that it is possible for a Scottish team to make it that far.
The Hoops come into this match off the back of a dominant and convincing 4-0 win over Championship side Partick Thistle in the quarter-finals of the League Cup on Sunday.
Red Star Belgrade are likely to provide a much greater test for the Scottish giants this evening, though, as they have some danger men at the top end of the pitch.
The Red Star Belgrade player that Celtic need to stop
The Serbian outfit have a player who will be familiar to anyone who has followed European or English football over the last decade, Marko Arnautovic.
Red Star Belgrade’s versatile attacker turned 36 earlier this year, but he is still a force to be reckoned with, particularly for Celtic ahead of this evening’s clash.
The Austrian star joined the club on a free transfer from Inter in the summer transfer window. That came after the striker scored 14 goals in 65 matches for the Italian giants, per Transfermarkt.
The goal from Arnautovic for Inter in the clip above from earlier this year shows that the Austria international still has the quality to produce big moments in matches, despite his age.
He has delivered one goal and three assists in three league games for Red Star Belgrade this season, per Transfermarkt, which also shows that the attacker has hit the ground running with his new club.
Premier League
184
43 + 33
Serie A
102
33 + 7
Bundesliga
72
14 + 11
Eredivisie
44
12 + 9
As you can see in the table above, Arnautovic has provided plenty of goals and assists throughout his career in several major leagues across Europe: in England, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands.
The former Stoke City and West Ham star has also scored 41 goals and grabbed 30 assists in 127 caps for Austria to date, showing that he can thrive on the international stage as well as at club level.
All of these statistics suggest that the 36-year-old centre-forward is the big danger man for Red Star Belgrade. He is the player that the Hoops need to silence if they want to come away with any points from their Europa League clash this evening.
With this in mind, Brendan Rodgers must ensure that he picks a team that can handle the Austrian striker and silence him throughout the match tonight.
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The Northern Irish head coach must, now, be incredibly bold and ruthlessly ditch Liam Scales from the starting line-up to bring 22-year-old centre-back Dane Murray into the side to silence Red Star Belgrade’s key player.
Why Dane Murray could silence Marko Arnautovic
Firstly, dropping Scales from the team would be a big decision for the manager because the Ireland international has started all five matches in the Scottish Premiership and started both of the Champions League qualifying games.
However, despite scoring, the left-footed central defender looked shaky defensively against Championship side Patrick Thistle on Sunday, as former Hoops man Tony Watt got the drop on him several times.
Some of his performances in the Champions League last season also left a bit to be desired. He lost three of his four ground duels in a 7-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund and lost one of his three ground duels in a 4-2 defeat to Aston Villa, per Sofascore.
As you can see in the highlights above, Scales was caught out by the quick feet of Morgan Rogers for the second goal and was out of position and left Auston Trusty with two players to mark for the third goal.
Therefore, there may be a concern that Arnautovic’s quality and experience could cause problems for the Irish defender, who seems to struggle against top-quality opponents who shift the ball quickly and have clever movement.
This is why Dane Murray may be better equipped to silence the Austria international, because he has the physicality and pace to deal with tricky centre-forwards.
Speaking about the 22-year-old star earlier this year, Rodgers said: “A really talented young player, [he] had a challenging time with injury. He’s 6 foot 4, good pace, and can play.”
Minutes
90
45
Goals conceded
0
0
Clearances
7
2
Interceptions
1
0
Tackles
3
1
Dribbled past
0x
0x
Duels won
8/13
2/2
Pass accuracy
89%
98%
As you can see in the table above, Murray impressed in his last two appearances for the first-team in August, dominating opposition forwards in physical duels and helping the Hoops to two clean sheets in the process.
He has the physicality to dominate opposition players in duels and the pace to prevent forwards from dribbling past him, which makes the Scottish ace a difficult centre-back for strikers to play against.
Murray, of course, also scored a goal in the cup win over Falkirk earlier this season. This shows that he can also offer a threat at the other end of the pitch from set-pieces.
Overall, the Scottish defender’s physicality in duels and mobility to prevent players from getting the better of him with their speed could make him the ideal man to step in and silence Arnautovic ahead of Scales, who struggled against the better forwards in Europe last season.
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It is now down to Rodgers to be bold and unleash the rarely-seen central defender alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers for this match this evening.