Oleg Protasov celebrated his first win in charge of Astra thanks to a 2-1 win over Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt.
It took an 87th minute goal from Sadat Bukari, an international team-mate of Wakaso Mubarek, to separate the sides and give Astra their first win in five matches.
The points lifted Astra into fourth place in the league ahead of the visit from Celtic as they attempt to pick up their first points in the Europa League.
After the match Protasov said: “It was a difficult game, but I’m glad we got the win. We knew we had a tough task and were missing three key players.
“It’s been a problem for us with the number of injuries and suspensions, players have had to come in and play out of position. We’re constantly looking for replacements and having to improvise.
“Yahaya’s (defender Seidu who caused the Ceahlaul goal) error surprised me. I did not expect such an error, but it’s not his fault. He played in an unusual position and doesn’t normally make errors like that.”
While Celtic travel to Astra Dinamo Zagreb will be hoping to keep their qualification hopes alive by beating Red Bull Salzburg at home.
Back-to-back defeats away to Celtic and the Austrians has left Dinamo trailing four points behind the Group D pacesetters despite being four points clear at the top of the Croatian league.
On Saturday Dinamo drew 0-0 away to Split while Red Bull maintained their place at the top of the Austrian league with a 3-0 home win over Admira.
