Celtic to take a step closer to group stages
Published:
Best of Scotland vs best of Norway
Brendan Rodgers takes his Celtic side into the Champions League qualifying third round on Wednesday evening against Rosenborg. The best of Scotland vs Norwegian football’s most successful club.
The first leg goes ahead in Glasgow from 7.45pm, and you can bet on over 160 markets at Coral, including match winner, correct score, first goal scorer and to win to nil. Armchair fans are also looked after, courtesy of Premier Sports.
Group stages minimum expected
Celtic waltzed past Northern Irish side Linfield in the last round, scoring six goals over two legs and keeping a pair of clean sheets. There was more drama off the field than on it, a number of missiles thrown at Celtic players during the first leg in Belfast. The Bhoys kept their composure to win 2-0 there, thanks to goals from Rogic and a Haughey OG. That saw The Bhoys through, but just to make sure, they won 4-0 at Parkhead, Rogic, Armstrong and a Sinclair double.
The Scottish treble winners went through the domestic season unbeaten in Rodgers’ first season in charge, and there was real progress made in the Champions League too, taking points off Manchester City home and away. Everyone at the club would see failure to qualify for the group stage as a real step back, and fans will expect to go close to playing knockout football, given a decent draw.
Celtic lead 3-1 on H2H stats
Wednesday’s match will be the fifth meeting between Celtic and Rosenborg, with the head-to-head standing at 3-1 in The Hoops’ favour. The last time these sides met, the Norwegians came out on top however, winning 2-0 in the Champions League back in 2001, a double from Harold Brattbackk the difference. Only one team have scored in each of the last two, and clicking no in the both to score coupon at Coral will earn you 19/20.
Our traders have the home win marked down as the most likely outcome on Wednesday, offering 2/5 to punters who want to keep the Scots close. Everyone in the home dressing room will be hoping to score a couple and keep a clean sheet, ensuring they travel to Norway to protect a lead. Supporters confident they’ll do just that can have 5/4 on Celtic to win to nil.
Rosenborg a big price for the upset
Former Celtic boss Ronny Deila has lent Rosenborg a helping hand this week, telling the visitors how he thinks the home side can be exposed. Much has changed at Parkhead since Deila was a regular however, and with his advice being to hit The Hoops on the counter, it won’t cause Brendan Rodgers to lose any sleep. That suggests we could be in for a tight match, with Rosenborg packing the defence, aiming to keep this one live going into the second leg.
Breaking down opponents is nothing new to Celtic, they come up against packed penalty boxes most weeks in Scotland, but if Rosenborg are happy to sit back, we should see a low-scoring game. The match producing under 2.5 goals is even money. Fancy the upset? Coral offer the away win at a bumper 6/1, while the draw can be had at 16/5.
