Celtic – Man City

Celtic will not be very confident ahead of the Champions League clash with Mancester City, particularly after they lost 0-7 to Barcelona in the opening round. However, they will draw some morale from the home court advantage and will do their best to claim a famous result.

After some horrible display in the last few seasons in Europe, Celtic managed to get back to the Champions League group stages. However, they have not impressed this season and have not gotten much better under Brendan Rodgers. Losing to Lincoln Red Imps or losing 0-7 at Camp nou in the first round of the group stages are a few negative highlights for Celtic this season. Defense has been particularly poor, with Celtic conceding 8 goals in 6 matches even in Scotland (and 14 in 7 games in Europe). Against a team like City, that is not good news.

Manchester City is pumping on all cylinders so far this season. Guardiola’s arrival had a fast and fantastic impact, above expectations. The visitors are playing great football, scoring tons of goals and winning all 10 matches played this season! Only once did they score less than 2 goals in a game, in a dead rubber with Steaua Bucharest (1-0 after 5-0 in the first leg). The visitors defeated Monchengladbach 4-0 in the first UCL group stage game and will look to make it 2 out of 2 in order to fight with Barcelona for the first place.

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Team news & lineups:

Boyata and possibly De Vries will miss out for Celtic. Manchester City will be without De Bruyne, Kompany, Toure and possibly Delph. Guardiola is not expected to rest players and should field the best available lineup.

Celtic Glasgow: Gordon – Lustig, Toure, Sviatchenko, Tierney – Forrest, Rogic, Brown, Bitton, Sinclair – Griffiths

Manchester City: Bravo – Sagna, Stones, Otamendi, Kolarov – Fernandinho, Gundogan – Navas, Silva, Sterling – Aguero

I believe the difference between these two sides is simply too big at the moment and City’s form and consistency make an upset very unlikely. What’s more, the matchup between City’s offense and Celtic’s poor defense seems a match made in heaven for the visitors. Celtic doesn’t have what it takes to sit back and defend a draw, as seen at Camp Nou in the first round, so that decreases the chances for an upset a lot.

Even on the road, Manchester City should have more than enough for a pretty comfortable win against this rather poor Celtic side. I just don’t see any circumstances for an upset, so my tip is Manchester City to cover the -1 asian handicap. Granted, it’s not the most inovative bet and not the highest odds, but right now I`m more concerned with winning my bets rather than looking for the best value. Personally, I will take my chances with maximum stakes on this pick. Prediction: Celtic – Manchester City 1-3.

Pick: Manchester City (-1 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 1.56 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 10
Possible profit: 5.60
Event date: 28 September