Preview: Shakhter Karagandy vs. Celtic

Celtic face a trip into the unknown this afternoon in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier against Kazakhstan champions Shakhter Karagandy.

Neil Lennon's made the six-hour journey to Kazakhstan straight after Saturday's 2-0 win over Aberdeen, with the Hoops boss wanting the maximum time possible to acclimatise.

Dirk Boerrigter, Anthony Stokes, Tom Rogic and Amido Balde all missed the win over Aderdeen through injury, while Mikael Lustig and James Forrest are also bidding for recalls.

Shakhter boss Viktor Kumykov rested his entire starting XI in the league last weekend, with the coach prioritising tonight's qualifier as his side bid to continue their shock run in the competition.

Possible starting lineups

Shakhter: Mokin, Dzidic, Vasiljevic, Poryvaev, Simcevic, Vicius, Canas, Ghazaryan, Finonchenko, Khizhnichenko, Zenkovich

Celtic: Forster, Matthews, Lustig, Ambrose, Izaguirre, Kayal, Brown, Ledley, Forrest, Commons, Samaras

Sports Mole says: 0-1