Atletico Madrid arrive at Celtic Park on Wednesday on the back of a 4-1 hammering from city rivals Real.
The pre-season loss of Diego Forlan and Sergio Forlan has proved too much of a burden for the Spanish side who sit in 11th place, four points above the relegation zone, after 13 matches.
Columbian striker Ramadel Falcao has scored seven goals in ten appearances but coach Gregorio Manzano is under pressure as his side fail to mount any sort of challenge for the title.
Adrian Lopez put Atletico into the lead against Real but the loss of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois left the visitors with little chance of success.
Manzano claimed: “I would not have shown him a red, it was a determinant play.
“The penalty, but especially the red card, changed a lot of things. It is a situation that changes everything you had planned.
“The key moments were the penalty and the 3-1. We controlled the game until the red card. When both teams had 11 players on the pitch, we saw a very good Atletico.”
If Celtic beat Atletico and Rennes win at home to Udinese all four teams will go into the final match in contention to qualifyt for the knock out stage of the competition.
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