Real Madrid begin their Champions League defence in the east end of Glasgow tonight as Celtic welcome the 14-time winners of the competition back to the city where they’ve won two of their European crowns.
By the time the Champions League theme rings around Celtic Park the crowd will be generating enough energy to power the national grid. And these days, that energy is more than matched by the team on the pitch, leading to an air of anticipation emanating from Paradise that the Hoops can give Carlo Ancelotti’s men a bloody nose this evening.
Ange Postecoglou has worked wonders to turn things back around for the Bhoys and after Saturday’s 4-0 destruction of title rivals Rangers the plaudits are coming thick and fast. The likeable big Aussie is happy enough batting away the platitudes but there’s a feeling that tonight could be a seminal moment in the 57-year-old’s fascinating career.
On paper, the Hoops shouldn’t stand a chance; Karim Benzema has scored more goals in the competition than the entrie Celtic squad have made appearances. Carlo Ancelotti has won it more times than Postecoglou has managed European group stage matches. And Real’s played budget is on a different stratosphere to the Scottish champions.
However, the bookies rate Celtic’s chances at under 4/1 – in theory they’d win this match once every four times it was played. That feels a little skimpy based on the two clubs’ place in world football at the moment but there’s potentially something very sepcial happening at Celtic at the moment and they shouldn’t be written off.
Madrid suffered a shock defeat to Sheriff Tiraspol this time last season so there’s more than a glimmer of hope for the hosts and it should be a cracker. Plenty of Celtic fans will be putting their money where their mouth is but the best route to profit could be on the goals market.
Goals are all but guaranteed with this Celtic team. They’ve scored 17 in their last 3 outings, admittedly against weaker opposition than tonight’s, but they’re capable of getting on the scoresheet this evening. At the other end the nagging concern is Celtic’s defensive performances in Europe last season. They shipped 15 goals in 6 Europa League matches before conceding another five over two legs to Bodo/Glimt. It all makes the Over 2.5 line stand-out but that pays just 8/13 so instead look to the Asian goal line where it’s set at 3.0 at odds of 2.020.
Benfica looked impressive in qualifying for the group stages with comfortable aggregat wins over Midtjylland and Dynamo Kiev. Tonight they host Maccabi Haifi who have come through three qualifying rounds to be here. The Portuguese should be able to begin with a win and short odds to do so. They scored three or more in six of their last nine and the 5/6 on them to do so again looks promising as does the 11/10 on ther being Over 1.5 Goals in the first half.
Erling Haaland needs no introduction when it comes to the Champions League and he’s been on fire for Manchester City. The Norwegian hitman is just 8/11 to net at Sevilla tonight. But doubling it with a City win pays even money.
Super Singles
- Celtic v Real Madrid – Asian Goal Line: Over 3.0 2.020 Bet365
- Benfica to score Over 2.5 Goals 5/6 Bet365
- Haaland to score & Man City to win 1/1 Bet365
Upcoming Tips & Previews
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Racing Tips
With Rizzel away on holiday Cairnzy steps in to the hot seat to provide his tips for Tuesday.
As always, let us know your football betting tips and predictions for today in the comments section below and good luck with all your weekend bets!
The post Tuesday Football Tips: Celts Out to Prove They’re the Real Deal appeared first on MrFixitsTips.