Champions League: Celtic have chance to qualify against Spartak

A famous night could lie in store for Celtic as Neil Lennon's men bid to secure their passage to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League.

Neil Lennon believes he is on the cusp of his greatest achievement as Celtic manager as he prepares for the club's Group G decider against Spartak Moscow at Parkhead. The Hoops had to fight their way through two qualifying rounds and were then unfancied when drawn alongside the Russian club, Benfica and Barcelona. However, with seven points from five games, including a famous 2-1 home win over the Catalan giants, the Scottish champions will go through to the knockout stages if they get a better result against Spartak, who are consigned to the bottom of the table, than Benfica get at Camp Nou. The former Celtic skipper, who became boss of the club in 2010, is expecting a tense night as updates filter through from Spain. Celtic have struggled for consistency on the domestic front over the past few weeks, having drawn with Arbroath in the Scottish Cup on Saturday, and Lennon will hope a return to European football sharpens their focus. Spartak, beaten 3-2 by the Scots at the Luzhniki Stadium earlier in the campaign, are looking to get back on track after a 4-2 loss at home to Zenit St Petersburg last Friday which left them eighth in the Russian Premier League.Victor Wanyama is suspended for Celtic after picking up another booking in the Hoops' previous European game against Benfica in Lisbon, taking him over the points limit. Midfielder Paddy McCourt (hamstring), winger James Forrest (hamstring) and Anthony Stokes (ankle) remain out of contention. Former Celtic winger Aiden McGeady is back in contention for Spartak after returning on Friday following six weeks out with a foot problem. Sergei Pesyakov (broken metatarsal), Welliton (collarbone), Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (abdominal injury), Romulo (knee) and Soslan Gatagov (knee) are all sidelined.