Kasper Hogh among three Celtic players who should be axed vs Benfica

Martin O'Neill and Celtic clearly needed the international break to hit the reset button before beating Motherwell at the weekend.

Camilo Duran and Benjamin Nygren were both on target at Fir Park on Sunday, 11 October, with the 2-0 win keeping them top of the Scottish Premiership table.

Derek McInnes' Rangers are hot on the Hoops' tail, beating Kilmarnock rather convincingly to remain just two points behind top spot.

Attention now turns the Europa League, and what a clash of the titans it could be at the Benfica Stadium on Thursday, 15 October.

The Portuguese giants are by far the more in-form team, but O'Neill has a handful of talents who could cause some real damage away from home.

O'Neill needs to make some tough calls ahead of the game, so Football Insider has named three players who need to be dropped.

Kasper Hogh

Kasper Hogh has been an enigma since joining from Bodo/Glimt for £11million, netting a hat-trick in his second game to now going eight games without a goal.

Celtic will likely need pace on the counter-attack against Benfica, and Hogh simply cannot offer than through the middle.

Sebastian Tounetki

Another player who is a source of frustration at Parkhead is Sebastian Tounekti, who has failed to make the desired impact so far.

The Hoops will need never-ending pressure, smart decision-making and very few mistakes in the final third. Tounetki's wasted chances against Motherwell rule him out of that.

Callum McGregor

There was nothing wrong with Callum McGregor's performance at Fir Park, not in the slightest, but two games in five days is a big ask for the 33-year-old.

The captain isn't getting any younger, and O'Neill will require plenty of energy and pace if they are to hold Benfica at bay away from home.