Tuesday, 19:45
Live on BT Sport
Celtic equal 100-year unbeaten record
Brendan Rodgers is loving life in Glasgow. The former Liverpool boss guided The Hoops to a domestic treble last season, and they equalled their own 100-year-old British footballing record on Saturday when stretching their unbeaten domestic run to 62 games. We're not yet at Halloween, but the Glaswegians are already top of the Premiership - six points clear of Old Firm rivals Rangers - and in the final of the League Cup.
Rodgers thought the 1-1 draw achieved with Kilmarnock at Parkhead on Saturday was disappointing, but described his side's form as phenomenal, and thought they weren't getting the credit they deserve for their achievements. It's true, Scottish football is presently in such a poor state that fans south of the border turn their noses up at results. Will Rodgers eventually get bored and push for a return to the English Premier League? That remains to be seen, but he'll want to make progress in the Champions League first, at the very least, getting The Bhoys out of the group stages of the competition.
That won't be happening anytime soon, barring some kind of sporting miracle, as they line-up against the might of Bayern Munich third in Group B, six points off leaders PSG, trailing Tuesday's visitors by three. Pull off a monumental win in Glasgow and they'd blow the race for second wide-open, but that looks unlikely. Celtic were beaten 3-0 by Bayern when last on Champions League duty, managing just three shots on target at the Allianz Arena.
Lewandowski faces race to be fit
The big news coming out of Bayern Munich this week is the injury of Robert Lewandowski. The 29-year-old Polish striker played his part in a 2-0 weekend win for FCB over RB Leipzig on Saturday, scoring the second of his side's two goals on 38 minutes, but he had his game cut short. The popular scorer was withdrawn at the break, appearing to have hurt himself in the process of scoring. Manager Jupp Heynckes is now sweating over the chances of his number nine making Tuesday's clash.
Will he need him? Well, there's no doubt the Bayern gaffer has plenty of talent in reserve if choosing to leave Lewandowski at home. Columbian James Rodriguez was the other scorer in that weekend win over Leipzig, a result that saw Munich open-up a three-point gap over Borussia Dortmund and the chasing pack. They've lost just one Bundesliga match this season, reeling off three league wins on the bounce.
Interestingly, each of those three have come without conceding, 2-0 Leipzig, 1-0 Hamburg and 5-0 Freiburg. Let's not forget they beat Celtic to nil earlier this month. That miserly defence will be called into action again, aiming to silence a fiercely loyal home support. Backers who expect the visitors to cement qualification with plenty to spare may want to back Munich to win to nil again. Celtic have scored just once against the Germans in three previous attempts, the spare coming in a 2003 2-1 defeat, courtesy of Alan Thompson.
Bhoys big price for first win over Bavarians
Celtic are far better in this competition at home than they are on the road, and they did take a point from Man City here last season in a six-goal thriller. Home fans would count another share of the spoils as real progress, and the draw can be backed at 5.80.
A chunky price, but the level finish is far more likely than a historic home win. Celtic have never beaten Bayern, they're 10.50 to change that on a special night in Glasgow.
The latter looks one for dyed-in-wool Hoops fans only. If you'd prefer to follow the form, Betfair traders have the away day as the smart play here, 2/7 available on the sportsbook. There's 1.34 on the exchange about the points heading back to Munich. Looking for your stake money to work a bit harder in midweek? Bayern -2 on the handicap is top price 11/5 at Betfair.
Trends make 3-0 worth an interest
The home side leaked five goals vs PSG when last seen at Celtic Park in the Champions League, PSG strolling to a 5-0 success, the French giants 3-0 up inside 40 minutes. A flick through the results shows us that each of the Scots' group matches so far have produced three or more goals.
Followers of the stats will tell us that each of Bayern's three have ended 3-0, wins over Celtic and Anderlecht, as well as defeat by the same score at the Parc des Princes. 3-0 Munich looks worth an interest at 9/1 (sportsbook).
That also suggests a bet on this one falling into line and producing over 2.5 goals will pull its weight in your midweek accumulators. There's 1.38 available on the exchange, those using the sportsbook will get 2/5. It's difficult to imagine a match where the ball is stuck in the middle of the park, Celtic keeping Munich out. The home backline has come in for plenty of criticism at this level, and that's why under 2.5 goals trades at 3.00.
Recommended Bets
Bayern Munich -2 @ 11/5 (sportsbook)
Bayern Munich 3-0 @ 9/1 (sportsbook)
0 nhận xét Blogger 0 Facebook
Post a Comment