Celtic v FK Sarajevo
Wednesday, 19:45
Live on Premier Sports
One foot in second round
Celtic host Premier League BH champions FK Sarajevo in Glasgow on Wednesday evening in what will be the second leg of their Champions League qualifying first round. The locals have one foot in the next phase thanks to an impressive 3-1 away win but must guard against complacency when faced with an opponent who have nothing to lose.
Neil Lennon’s side have a marathon ahead of them if they are to reach the money-spinning group stages of European football’s elite competition, but they have laid down a marker and can build momentum with a strong showing in front of their own fans. That’s exactly what Betfair traders expect to see here.
Hoops made to work in Sarajevo
The Hoops knew they were going to be made work for any joy they got in Sarajevo last Tuesday and Neil Lennon’s side suffered a nightmare start when falling behind inside the first half hour. Oremus struck an early goal for The Giants to give them a lead but that seemed to jolt their opponents to life. Johnston hit an equaliser to ensure the sides went into the break level at 1-1 before second half goals from Eduard and Sinclair helped secure a crucial away win.
The scoreline suggests a comfortable night’s work for Celtic but they had to roll up their sleeves and fight for the victory. Neil Lennon’s troops should be given full credit for getting the win on the road and securing a two-goal cushion. 2-1 would have kept the tie live but Sinclair’s late third appears to have put it to bed. Will the locals aim to see this one out or will they want to put on a show in their first game of the new season at Celtic Park?
Sarajevo battered and bruised
Former Hearts striker Husref Musemic takes his battered FK Sarajevo side to Scotland knowing they did themselves no favours last week. Their best chance at eliminating Celtic came from securing a strong home win and they blew it. You can’t concede three goals in front of your own fans and expect to remain competitive in the Champions League. The return is now about saving face and keeping the score respectable.
FK Sarajevo were hammered 8-0 by Atalanta in the Europa League last summer and they’ll be desperate to avoid a repeat of that on Wednesday. To have any chance they must tighten up a defence that looked preoccupied with hitting Celtic on the break last time, but the betting is against them, as you would expect, traders believing Sarajevo have run their race.
Hoops hot favourites at home
The pre-match odds for Wednesday’s return suggests this is a case of how many Celtic will win the match by and there’s no more than 1/10 offered by the Betfair Sportsbook. That’s tight but looks fair judging on what we saw first time. We landed a nice price winner on Celtic -1 in the first leg and backers may prefer to stick with that approach with 4/9 up for grabs, a price that could be put to good use in midweek accumulators.
Celtic have suffered a few shock defeats in this competition over the years but most of them have come away from home and we saw nothing from FK Sarajevo that suggests they are good enough to beat the Scottish champions by at least two goals in Glasgow. Those looking for a small interest on a big price outsider can support the away win at 14/1 or there’s an eye-catching 13/2 for the draw, which is sure to attract more interest.
Fans expect goals
The first leg gave us four goals and when keeping in mind that 8-0 hammering handed out by Atalanta last year, supporters packing Celtic Park will be hopeful of cheering on a few goals for their side. Punters can avoid the match betting market and chance their luck on the total goals betting as they seek out a better price.
Over 2.5 goals is 4/9 fav on the Betfair Sportsbook and that makes more sense than taking under the same mark at 8/5. Both teams to score, as they did last week, has been chalked up as a 5/4 play with no seen to be more likely at 4/7. We expect to see Celtic cover the handicap with a bit to spare.
Source: Betfair Europa League
