Lazio vs Celtic facts

Lazio are looking to strengthen their claim on a place in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 as they welcome Group E's bottom side Celtic to Rome.

In a congested section Lazio are second on seven points, one behind Atlético de Madrid and one above Feyenoord. The Italian side have won two of their four fixtures, including a 2-1 triumph at Celtic on Matchday 2 thanks to a 95th-minute goal.

Celtic have managed only one point, from a 2-2 draw at home to Atlético on Matchday 3, and have conceded eight goals in their two away fixtures – six of them in Madrid in the most recent round of games.

Previous meetings 

Lazio wins 1
Celtic wins 2
Draws 0
Lazio goals 4
Celtic goals 5

The home side struck first at Celtic Park on 4 October, Kyogo Furuhashi giving them a 12th-minute lead, but Lazio were level before the break thanks to Matías Vecino (29). It looked set to finish 1-1, only for Pedro Rodríguez to strike five minutes into added time and take the points to Italy.

The teams' only other fixtures came in the 2019/20 UEFA Europa League group stage, Celtic winning 2-1 both home and away. The Hoops came from behind in Glasgow on Matchday 3, Manuel Lazzari giving Lazio a 40th-minute lead that was cancelled out by Ryan Christie in the 67th minute before Christopher Jullien's 89th-minute winner.

Lazio also scored first at the Stadio Olimpico two weeks later through Ciro Immobile's seventh-minute opener, James Forrest replying in the 38th minute. Celtic again snatched the win in the closing stages, substitute Olivier Ntcham applying the decisive blow five minutes into added time.

Those six points helped Celtic finish top of the section on 13, one ahead of Romanian side CFR Cluj; Lazio were eliminated in third place on six points.

Form guide

Lazio

Their three meetings with Celtic are Lazio's only games against a Scottish side.

Lazio are in the Champions League group stage for the first time since 2020/21, when they finished second in their section behind Borussia Dortmund and went out to another German club, Bayern München, in the round of 16 (1-4 h, 1-2 a).

This is the Rome club's seventh group appearance overall but only a second in the last 16 seasons.

Lazio took part in the Europa League in 2022/23, finishing third in Group F behind Feyenoord and Midtjylland – all four teams in the section, including eliminated Sturm Graz, ending on eight points – to move into the Europa Conference League. They edged out CFR Cluj in the knockout round play-offs (1-0 h, 0-0 a), but then lost 1-2 home and away against AZ Alkmaar in the last 16.

The home defeat by AZ last season is Lazio's sole loss in their last 11 European games in Rome (W5 D5).

The Italian side kicked off this season's Champions League with a 1-1 home draw against Atlético – goalkeeper Ivan Provedel heading a last-gasp equaliser – before their win at Celtic. Beaten 3-1 at Feyenoord on Matchday 3, they turned the tables on the Dutch champions with a 1-0 win in Rome thanks to Immobile's 200th Lazio goal.

The defeat in Rotterdam is Lazio's only loss in their last ten Champions League group stage matches overall (W4 D5).

Maurizio Sarri's side were second in Serie A last season, 16 points behind leaders Napoli. It was their highest league finish since claiming their second title in 1999/2000.

Celtic

Record vs Italian clubs: W7 D8 L15 F28 A44
Away record vs Italian clubs: W1 D3 L10

Matchday 2 was Celtic's first game against a Serie A side since the 2020/21 Europa League group stage, when they lost 3-1 at home to AC Milan and – despite scoring twice in the first 14 minutes to lead 2-0 – 4-2 away.

Their 2019 wins against Lazio ended a nine-match run (D3 L6) without a victory against Italian clubs, home and away.

Celtic went 12 matches without a win in Italy (D3 L9) until that 2019 victory at Lazio, their sole away success in the country.

The Scottish side's first game against a Serie A side was also the most famous, Jock Stein's team claiming Britain's first European Cup with a 2-1 win against Inter in the 1967 final in Lisbon.

Celtic are in the Champions League group stage for the 12th time, one more than local rivals Rangers, and the second season in a row.

The Bhoys returned to the group stage for the first time in five seasons in 2022/23, but finished bottom of Group F having failed to win a game. Their only points came from two 1-1 draws against Shakhtar Donetsk, holders Real Madrid and Leipzig beating them home and away.

This season Celtic began with a 2-0 loss at Feyenoord before that home defeat by Lazio, subsequently earning a 2-2 draw against Atlético – a game in which they led twice – and then going down 6-0 in Madrid.

The first British club to win the European Cup in 1967, and runners-up to Feyenoord three years later, Celtic have reached the Champions League knockout stages three times, all those campaigns ending in the round of 16, most recently in 2012/13 against Juventus (0-3 h, 0-2 a).

Celtic have won only one of their last ten European away games, losing eight.

A 3-0 win at Anderlecht on Matchday 2 in 2017/18 is one of only two Celtic victories in their last 30 games in the Champions League, group stage to final (D6 L22).

That victory at Anderlecht is also the Hoops' only win in their last 17 away games in the Champions League proper (D3 L13).

Celtic claimed their 53rd Scottish League title, and an 11th in 12 seasons, in 2022/23, Ange Postecoglou's side finishing on 99 points, seven above runners-up Rangers. The Hoops also won the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup, claiming the domestic treble for the eighth time and a fifth in seven seasons.

Postecoglou departed for Tottenham Hotspur in the summer, Brendan Rodgers – who was previously in charge at Celtic between May 2016 and February 2019, winning two league titles, two Scottish Cups and three Scottish League Cups – returning as his replacement on a three-year contract.

Links and trivia

Pedro scored in Barcelona's 6-1 home win against Celtic on Matchday 6 of the 2013/14 Champions League having also started the 1-0 win in Glasgow on Matchday 2. Pedro also started Barcelona's 2-1 home group win the previous season, and the 2-1 defeat in Glasgow.

Joe Hart made 36 Serie A appearances on loan for Torino in 2016/17. He conceded five goals in his two games against Lazio (2-2 h, 1-3 a).

International team-mates:
Daichi Kamada & Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate (Japan)
Gustav Isaksen & Matt O'Riley (Denmark Under-21)

Kamada was in the Eintracht Frankfurt side that beat Rangers on penalties in the 2022 Europa League final.

Latest news

Lazio

On Saturday Lazio's winless Serie A run stretched to three games (D1 L2) with a 2-1 loss at Salernitana despite taking the lead through a first-half Ciro Immobile penalty.

That was Immobile's 100th away Serie A goal, the first player to reach that mark.

Eleven of Immobile's last 25 Serie A goals have come from the penalty spot.

Seventeen points in their first 13 Serie A games is Lazio's lowest total since 2013/14, when they also had 17 at the same stage.

Following their win against Feyenoord on Matchday 4, Lazio were held to a 0-0 draw by city rivals Roma on 12 November.

That was the first time Lazio had failed to score in consecutive Serie A games since November 2021.

The Italian side have scored four goals in their last six games in all competitions.

Lazio suffered their fifth Serie A defeat of the season on 3 November, going down 1-0 at Bologna. Five of their six league losses in 2023/24 have come away from home.

Lazio have kept three clean sheets in their last five games in all competitions, conceding only three goals. They managed only two in their first 12 games of the campaign.

Lazio took only four points from their first five games in Serie A (W1 D1 L3) scoring five goals and conceding eight. That represented their worst start to a Serie A campaign since 2001/02, when they also had four points after five matches.

Alessio Romagnoli missed the weekend loss with a calf strain that is expected to rule him out for two to three weeks.

Defender Nicolò Casale has not played since Matchday 3 due to a right thigh injury but was on the bench against Roma.

Mattia Zaccagni missed the Roma draw and had to withdraw from Italy's UEFA EURO 2024 qualifiers due to a knee injury. He returned for Lazio on Saturday but was carried off in the second half with a hip injury.

Matías Vecino went off against Roma with a gluteus injury which forced him to miss Uruguay's internationals and was also absent for Lazio on Saturday.

Daichi Kamada scored for Japan in the 5-0 FIFA World Cup qualifying win against Myanmar on 16 November

On 2 October Luis Alberto extended his contract with Lazio until 2028.

On 1 November Lazio were drawn at home to Genoa in the Coppa Italia round of 16; the game will be played on 5 December.

Celtic

Celtic's record in this season's Scottish Premiership is W11 D3.

On Saturday, despite taking the lead through substitute David Turnbull's 86th-minute penalty, the Hoops conceded a late equaliser to draw 1-1 at home to Motherwell. Luis Palma had had an earlier penalty saved.

Marco Tilio made his Celtic debut as a second-half substitute.

Having lost 6-0 on Matchday 4, Celtic themselves beat Aberdeen by the same scoreline five days later.

That win made it 50 home Scottish Premiership games without defeat (W43 D7), since a 2-1 loss to St. Mirren on 30 January 2021.

Odin Thiago Holm made his first league start for Celtic against Aberdeen and was also in the starting line-up against Motherwell.

James Forrest's goal in a 3-0 win at Ross Country on 4 November means he has now scored in 15 consecutive seasons for Celtic.

Brendan Rodgers celebrated his 700th game as a manager with a 3-1 win at home to Kilmarnock on 7 October.

Turnbull is Celtic's top scorer in this season's Scottish Premiership on seven goals, one more than Matt O'Riley and Kyogo Furuhashi.

Celtic relinquished their hold on the Scottish League Cup on 20 August, losing 0-1 at Kilmarnock. They had won the trophy six times in the previous seven seasons.

Holders Celtic have been drawn at home to non-league Buckie Thistle in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup; the game will be played on 20/21 January.

Furuhashi was forced off against Aberdeen after a clash of heads and missed Japan's FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Myanmar and Syria but started for Celtic on Saturday.

Daizen Maeda was ruled out for six weeks with a knee injury sustained when he was sent off against Atlético de Madrid.

Reo Hatate was ruled out for the rest of the group stage after sustaining a hamstring injury early on against Atlético on Matchday 3. He is expected to be out for two months having already been sidelined by a calf problem between 13 August and 16 September.

Stephen Welsh has not played since a 3-1 win at Aberdeen on 13 August due to an ankle problem.

Liel Abada sustained a thigh injury in training with Israel on 8 September and was expected to be out for three to four months.

Palma provided an assist as Honduras beat Mexico 2-0 in their CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final first leg on 18 November, although his side lost on penalties after a second-leg defeat by the same score.

Alistair Johnston's Canada lost to Jamaica on away goals at the same stage (2-1 a, 2-3 h).

Cameron Carter-Vickers played in both matches for the United States as they beat Trinidad & Tobago 4-2 on aggregate in their CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final to qualify for next year's Copa América.

O'Riley won his first cap for Denmark in a 2-0 UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying defeat by Northern Ireland on 20 November.

Gustaf Lagerbielke was named as the Swedish Allsvenskan's defender of the year for his performances with Elfsborg before joining Celtic in August.