Wednesday, 19:45
Live on BT Sport 1
Underdogs target another upset
Eight days ago Celtic lined up against the might of PSG in a Champions League glamour tie at Parkhead. Brendan Rodgers now takes his hoops to The City of Discovery for a League Cup quarter-final vs fellow Premiership side Dundee.
The locals, bossed by former Rangers man Neil McCann, are operating on a small percentage of Neymar's annual wage, but go into this test on the back of an upset win over St Johnstone, and will fancy their chances of pulling off another shock here. Home fans have to go back a long way to find any shred of encouragement for Wednesday night. Dundee have beaten The Bhoys in only 51 of their 275 previous meetings, and you have to go back to May 2001 for the last Dundee win over Celtic, when former Arsenal striker Fabian Caballero netted a double.
There's not been an awful lot for fans to smile about in this fixture since, and Dundee lost two and drew one of three meetings last season, the defeats giving us 2-1 correct scores. They did pick up their first win of the season last time out however, taking their tally for the campaign to one win, one draw and four defeats. Written off across the board at this venue vs high-flying St Johnstone on Saturday, the dark blues battled to a 3-2 cheer.
Tommy Wright's side lost their unbeaten record thanks to a double from Leitch-Smith and a Moussa converted penalty. Republic of Ireland defender Darren O'Dea was sent off on 83 minutes for a second bookable offence, but the beaten side couldn't build on the two penalties scored by Liam Craig. A much-needed win for Dundee, and one the management team will be desperate to build on. Followers of stats will be interested to learn both teams have scored in each of The Dee's last four, the same again here is 21/20 (Sportsbook).
Rodgers to give youth a chance
Followers of football north of the border were interested to see just how Celtic would respond to that mauling by PSG in the Champions League. Critics labelled the club's biggest ever home defeat in the competition embarrassing, others held a more sympathetic view, believing there was little more the Scots could do when meeting a side with the Parisians spending power. Celtic faced a test at home to Ross County on Saturday, but it was another they passed with flying colours.
Star striker Moussa Dembele was back in the squad, playing for the first time since July, and he marked his return with a first-half goal. Last season's treble winners extended their unbeaten domestic run to 55 matches, with Rogic and Forrest also on the scoresheet, the latter notching a double.
It'll be interesting to see if Rodgers risks Dembele's recovery against Dundee in a match they really should be winning comfortably, but the young Frenchman did seem in need of game time, lacking in match sharpness, as you would expect. If he's given a starting slot, you'd fancy him to score again.
The visitors booked their place in the quarter finals of this competition with a resounding 5-0 home win over Kilmarnock last month, in a match that saw them give youth a chance, starting five teenagers. Brendan Rodgers must be credited for that, and his faith in the young guns was rewarded, and then some, Anthony Rolston scoring his first senior goal on a night that also saw Tierney, Armstrong and Griffiths fire. The gaffer will have no hesitation in turning to his kids again, as Celtic aim to win this trophy for the third time in four years.
No surprise to see Celtic as favourites
Punters won't be the least bit surprised to see Celtic marked as hot favourites for the win, seemingly nailed on to get the job done in 90 minutes, marching into the last four and another outing at the national stadium. The exchange currently has the away day at 1.23, while those with a bit more confidence will enjoy a play on the handicap, Celtic -1 at 8/13 (Sportsbook).
Recent meetings between these sides tell us that both teams to score with a Celtic win is the smart play, and you can stick with that trend at top price 19/10 on the Sportsbook, but Dundee certainly deserve our respect on their own patch and if Rodgers does go with youth, bolstered by a few fringe players, he could leave the door open for an upset home win. It shouldn't attract too much attention, but there's a lot to like about the locals at 14.00.
Dundee capable of making this interesting
The last two matches involving Dundee and Celtic have ended in 2-1 wins for the favourites. Dundee were involved in a five-goal thriller on Saturday, while Celtic rattled in four of their own. In the two matches involving Dundee this month, we've had no less than 10 goals. Celtic's last two have given us nine, so although we make the away win a confident pick, this one should be a touch more competitive than the market suggests.
Dundee are not without their problems, and the jury remains out on Neil McCann as manager, but they'll go into this with a new-found belief following that weekend win over St Johnstone and will see the match for what it is - a one off, straight shoot-out at home against a Celtic side showing a few inexperienced heads. The evening producing over 2.5 goals is our main selection at 1.48.
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Over 2.5 goals @ 1.48
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