Parkhead played host to a thrilling first leg Europa League tie between Celtic and Inter Milan. John Guidetti was the hero, with the substitute’s late goal earning Celtic a more than deserved draw in a match where defending certainly didn’t come out on top.

Like many of the fixtures in this season’s Europa league the draw stirs up a historical narrative. Inter were of course Celtic’s opponents in their 1967 European Cup final success. Goals came in flurries and the two halves couldn’t have been more contrasting. Heavy rain and a typically special atmosphere were catalysts for an outrageous match.

Before any kind of judgment could be made about how the game would go, Xherdan Shaqiri stunned the Celtic park faithful, putting Inter 1-0 up in the fourth minute. And before any kind of Celtic resurgence could begin, just five minutes later and Inter scored again, this time Rodrigo Palacio putting the ball in the net. It was just the start Roberto Mancini would have wanted, and a dejected looking Ronny Deila seemed to have no answer to what had just unfolded.

Craig Gordon ought to have done better in the lead up to the first goal, having parried Shaqiri’s initial volley straight back to the Swiss midfielder for him to tuck the ball home.

And a mix up between Emilio Izaguirre and Virgil Van Dijk led to to Palacio finding himself clear on goal. The Argentine accepted the gift.

However, it was clear to see that on the whole, the Celtic players were off the pace in the early minutes, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Shaky starts in European encounters has been a running theme for Celtic for years, decades even. The step up in quality of opposition from the Scottish Premier League to the later stages of European competition is giant. Celtic are regularly effected by this.

The Inter players showed their quality following the goals, engineering chances with smart passing and skilful dribbling. Their job was made easier by a confidence shot group of Celtic players, whose tendency to dive in only opened up more space for the Italians.

Something changed however, and it all clicked for Celtic after the 20-minute mark, when Adam Matthews combined impressively with Stephan Johansen down Inter’s left flank to set up Stuart Armstrong who finished emphatically.

A minute later Celtic had the ball in the back of Inter’s net once again. 2-2. It initially seemed that Armstrong had scored the second as well, and whilst it was later confirmed to be a Hugo Campagnaro own goal, it took nothing away from the sheer disbelief of both sets of fans.

Inter had taken their foot off the gas after going 2-0 up so early on in the game and Celtic had taken advantage of this. Deila’s players were like a pack of wolves, hunting everything down, pushing Inter into their own half and putting in inconspicuous fouls to wind up Mancini’s men, specifically Gary ‘the Pitbull’ Medel.

Celtic’s attacking midfield trio of Armstrong, Stefan Johansen and Gary Mackay-Steven particularly caught the eye during this period of the match, with all three players embodying the tenacious attitude Celtic needed to match such a side as Inter.

The home side’s dominance continued up until the dying seconds of the first half when, against the run of play, Palacio was again gifted a goal, this time from a Gordon blunder, to put Inter 3-2 up at the break.

The second half was very much a war of attrition. Celtic, not completely despondent after conceding so late in the first half, were wary of conceding a goal on the counter-attack. As the seconds ticked on, Mancini became increasingly protective of the scoreline, making two defensive substitutions late in the game.

Deila countered this and made a double change which, although like for like, turned out to influence the match in a hugely positive way for his side. Liam Henderson and John Guidetti came on for Armstrong and Leigh Griffiths respectively. Within minutes came an ominous sign, Guidetti’s hassling of Andrea Rannochia forced the Inter defender to turn provider for Henderson, who forced a save from the Inter goalkeeper.

Celtic pushed and pushed a retreating Inter, who were now five at the back and they got their just deserts deep into stoppage time.

Henderson dinking a first time through ball to Guidetti, whose chest and volley sent the crowd into euphoria in the 93rd minute.

Guidetti’s strike means it’s all to play for in the second leg in Milan, but Gordon’s last minute save from a Shaqiri free-kick should not be forgotten also.

With both Liverpool and Everton desperate for a win, there is an extra importance to this forthcoming tie. The nervous fans of either camp need a sign that their season is not lost- what better way to show this than to beat your rivals.

Liverpool and Everton are currently sat in 11th and 14th in the table respectively, so both sides come into this crunch match with a similar story – one of elation from last season’s adventures, and despair this time around.

Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool – only five games into the campaign – have already lost three matches. It took until December of last year for Liverpool to register the same number of losses in the 2013/2014 season.

Roberto Martinez’s Everton have already conceded 13 goals in their first five games of the Premier League season.

It is clear something is off with both teams. Defending is the main factor in Everton’s downfall currently, and with two draws in their last five games- their inability to see games out is also a cause for concern for Martinez.

Liverpool on the other hand, whilst looking shaky at the back, will be more concerned by their performance in midfield and attack. Steven Gerrard’s wavering form is contributing to the team’s lack of control in midfield and the team as a whole do not look like they can reach anywhere near last season’s 100-odd goal tally. Who knew that losing one of the best strikers in the world would have such an effect eh?

Key players from both teams will miss this tie due to injury so the job of predicting the starting XI’s is made easier. Steven Pienaar and Seamus Coleman both face late fitness tests, but it is likely neither of them will start the match. Ross Barkley remains unavailable due to a knee ligament injury.

It’s safe to say that Martinez trusts Steven Naismith in the big games, which is why I think he’ll start him, perhaps in a free role behind Romelu Lukaku. Naismith is certainly one to watch out for. A hard working and versatile player, his class is often overlooked… His performance could be one of the deciding factors in the result.

Aiden McGeady and Kevin Mirallas will likely come back into the side, having featured frequently during the first few games of the campaign. Samuel Eto’o will likely come off the bench to play a part.

Whilst Liverpool’s Adam Lallana and Raheem Sterling bizarrely played 120 minutes of Capital One Cup football in midweek, I cannot see past them starting either side of Mario Balotelli. If Phillipe Coutinho is fit enough, I see him returning to the Liverpool starting XI, ahead of Lucas, to join Gerrard and Jordan Henderson in a midfield three.

As always, Sterling is a player to watch with expectancy. Since we first saw him in a Liverpool shirt, he showed pace and skill – a bums on seat sort of player. But this season, his performances have gone onto a whole new level. This could be put down to good coaching and a good pre-season, perhaps a natural maturing cycle with age, but most definitely, the loss of Suarez has given him more responsibility. He is everywhere on the pitch; playmaking, tackling and scoring. It will be interesting to see how his performance is effected after playing 120 minutes of football just days previous.

The defence pretty much picks itself – with Glen Johnson and Jon Flanagan out injured, Spanish youngsters Alberto Moreno and Javier Manquillo will fill up the full-back positions. It seems that Rodgers favors Dejan Lovren at left centre back over Mamadou Sakho, so Lovren will probably pair up with Martin Skrtel at the heart of the defence.

Liverpool supporters remain hopeful that Daniel Sturridge’s return from injury could come this weekend, but Rodgers concedes ‘he certainly won’t be match fit’. We may see him come off the bench.

Joe Allen and Emre Can are other notable Liverpool absentees through injury.

After impressive campaigns last season, both Martinez and Rodgers just cannot seem to find a winning formula. Admittedly, player form and injuries have negatively influenced the two teams’ fortunes thus far. But what’s most striking is that, in contrast to last season, neither of these talented managers can find a way to compensate. Being a derby, the focus is on the pitch – the effort and determination of the players is critical – but this match could very much be seen as a battle off it, between Rodgers and Martinez

Anfield plays host to what is essentially a must-win game for both teams – a strange situation so early on in the season. Quite simply neither side can afford to drop even lower in the table, and whilst a win may not result in a huge positional climb, it would result in a swing of momentum. There would be a sense – for the players, and the fans – that ‘Our season starts now’.

Predicted XI’s:

Liverpool

Everton