The visiting defenders get a wee breather as the ball briefly enters the Celtic half but it won't be long until it comes back their way.

Celtic are knocking on the door as Stuart Armstrong cuts in from the left and lets fly with a shot that is well saved by Raul Navas. Callum McGregor is next to have a go and his deflected shot from 18 yards crashes against the crossbar.

The semi-professional side from Gibraltar are camped along the edge of their own penalty area as Stuart Armstrong takes a tumble. The referee points to the spot then confers with his assistant and gives a free-kick just outside the box. I'm not sure it was a foul at all but the challenge was definitely inside the area.

Leigh Griffiths is leaning back as he hammers the free-kick over the top.

Moussa Dembele lunges after the ball on the angle of the six yard box following another thrust from James Forrrest and the ball spins narrowly wide of the post. Corner number two, disappointing again...

First corner of the night as Imps captain Roy Chipolina sweeps clear a dangerous ball across goal from Leigh Griffiths. The set-piece from Patrick Roberts is feeble though and easily dealt with.

A promising burst from James Forrest has the visitors scrambling but the Celtic winger can't get through the forest of defenders in red and black.

We're up and running...

Chris McLaughlin
BBC Sport Scotland at Celtic Park

"The evening kicks off with the unfurling of the SPFL Premiership league flag. Huge cheers. Celtic fans have turned out in numbers. Can the Imps provide another massive shock? Here we go."

The teams are out of the tunnel and last season's Premiership champions flag is unfurled by the side of the pitch.

It's time for You'll Never Walk Alone.

There were around 2,000 at the first leg. There are a fair few more than that in tonight...

Celtic: Gordon, Lustig, Sviatchenko, Tierney, Forrest, Brown, Roberts, McGregor, Armstrong, Dembele, Griffiths. 

Subs: Fasan, Izaguirre, Ciftci, Christie, Rogic, Janko, Ajer. 

Lincoln Red Imps: Navas, Garcia, Ryan Casciaro, Roy Chipolina, Joseph Chipolina, Patino, Bernardo Lopes, Calderon, Walker, Lee Casciaro, Kyle Casciaro.

Subs: Soler, Bardon, Cabrera, Torrilla, Rojas, Kenneth Chipolina, Livramento. 

Referee: Bartosz Frankowski (Poland) 

Leigh Griffiths believes an early goal might scare the visitors.

"We know it's only half-time in the tie so we've got a great chance of going through with the full crowd behind," said the striker, who scored 40 goals last season.

"It's just about being professional on the night. They will put a lot of men behind the ball and try to hit us on the counter-attack like they did in Gibraltar. But the way the gaffer is going to set up, we are going to attack and there will be a lot of pace in the team, and if we can get that early goal it will frighten them." 

If Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers was flustered by that dreadful result last week, he's doing a good job of hiding it...

"The message to the players is similar to the supporters, it is that first 20 minutes if we don't score a goal then you have to be patient and for that you need the support. But thankfully, I understand the Celtic supporters, they understand the game, they know football and patience is something they have been accustomed to," he said at yesterday's media conference.

"You can be an attacking team but there are times when the ball can't go forward, it has to be circulated. Our team will always be set up to create and score goals but if it doesn't come the message is, they just have to be patient because you might take one hour or 70 minutes in any game before you break a team down and then you can score two, three, four, five goals in the last 20 minutes." 

Image source, SNS

Celtic have missed out on the Champions League group stage over the last two seasons, which was one of the main factors behind the removal of former boss Ronny Deila.

Fans crave the big European nights under the floodlights, as do those in charge of the coffers, but the Scottish champions need to negotiate their way past these pesky Imps, then a tricky tie with Astana before a final play-off round on 16/17 and 23/24 August.

If games go the way of seedings, BATE Borisov, Legia Warsaw, Dinamo Zagreb, FC Copenhagen & Ludogorets Razgrad are the potential play-off opponents for Brendan Rodgers' men, but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves...

Let's be bold and predict a home win this evening. If Celtic get over this hurdle they will meet Astana in the third qualifying round.

The Kazakh side needed a late goal for a 2-1 success against FK Zalgiris earlier on, following a 0-0 first leg in Lithuania.

Astana made the Champions League group stage for the first time last season and were unbeaten at home against Benfica, Galatasaray and eventual runners-up Atletico Madrid.

Striker Lee Casciaro's early second half goal gave Lincoln an unlikely first leg victory and now the 34-year-old Ministry of Defence policeman is dreaming of scoring again at Celtic Park.

He has form in Glasgow, having netted Gibraltar's first competitive international goal at Hampden, briefly drawing the teams level in a 6-1 win for Scotland in March 2015.

Image source, SNS

Efe Ambrose copped some flak for his role in the Red Imps goal last week and the big defender is nowhere to be seen tonight as manager Brendan Rodgers makes five changes. Nir Bitton is absent through injury.

Stuart Armstrong, Mikael Lustig, Patrick Roberts, James Forrest and Callum McGregor are the players coming into the starting XI.

Only three defenders? Does that mean three at the back and everyone else bombing on or a makeshift right-back? We'll find out soon enough...

Celtic: Gordon, Lustig, Sviatchenko, Tierney, McGregor, Brown, Armstrong, Roberts, Forrest, Griffiths, Dembele.

Substitutes: Christie, Rogic, Janko, Fasan, Ajer, Ciftci, Izaguirre.

There have been a few heavy thunderclaps over Scotland today and Celtic will be hoping lightning doesn't strike twice as they look to get the job done against Lincoln Red Imps in Champions League qualifying.

The minnows from Gibraltar bring a 1-0 lead to Celtic Park after their shock victory last week.

Surely normal service will be resumed this evening... Surely?

Image source, SNS