Celtic praying for minor miracle

The situation looks bleak for Celtic FC as they host Group C leaders Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC, with the Scottish side needing two wins – and two defeats for Hamburger SV – to reach the round of 32.

• Another point would all but put Tel-Aviv in the knockout phase.

Previous meetings
• Tel-Aviv beat Celtic 2-1 in Israel on Matchday 1 in the third game between the two clubs.

• When Dror Kashtan's Tel-Aviv met Celtic in the first round of the 1999/2000 UEFA Cup, Sweden forward Henrik Larsson hit all three goals in a 3-0 aggregate success for John Barnes's side – two at home and one more away. Israel international Eyal Berkovic came on for Celtic in the second leg.

• The teams for the first leg in Glasgow on 16 September 1999 were:-
Celtic: Gould, Mahe, McNamara, Stubbs, Larsson, Burley, Lambert, Petta (Blinker, 83), Tébily, Moravčík, Burchill.
Tel-Aviv: Elimelech, Ohaion, Gershon, Rupnik, Pisont, Harazi (Tikva, 63), Udi, Toama (Cohen, 71), Antebi, Bakhar, Cimirotič.

Match background
• Celtic are without a victory in four European home encounters this season and are yet to win a UEFA club competition game in Glasgow since Tony Mowbray took over as manager. However, the Englishman did end the club's 24-game wait for an away success as they beat FC Dinamo Moskva 2-0 in this season's UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.

• Tel-Aviv have won three of their four European away outings this season, losing the other, and have scored at least twice in all of them, with Matchday 4's 3-0 win at SK Rapid Wien the pick of their results.

Team facts
• Mowbray represented his current club as a player (1991-95) between spells with Middlesbrough FC and Ipswich Town FC. Since hanging up his boots, the former defender has managed Ipswich, Hibernian FC and West Bromwich Albion FC, before replacing Gordon Strachan as Hoops boss this summer.

• Tel-Aviv coach Eli Gutman is nicknamed 'The German' because of his reputation as a disciplinarian. He made his name by claiming the 1996/97 State Cup with Hapoel Beer-Sheva FC and then the Israeli title with Hapoel Haifa FC in 1998/99.

• Founded in the 1920s, Tel-Aviv's links to the Histadrut trade union and the hammer and sickle on their club badge earned them a reputation as a club with left-wing leanings.

• Scotland and Israel have met just once in senior internationals, with a Paul McStay goal giving Sir Alex Ferguson's side a 1-0 win at the National Stadium in Ramat Gan in a January 1986 friendly.

• Celtic visit Rapid in their final Group C game on 17 December, with Tel-Aviv hosting Hamburg on the same night.