Valencia v Celtic: Hoops defensive frailties to be punished again

“Los Ches have kept a clean-sheet in each of their last three games in all competitions”

Valencia v Celtic
Thursday, 20:00
Live on BT Sports

Many Round of 32 ties hang in the balance as we head into Thursday’s second-leg matches, but this doesn’t appear to be one of them. Valencia were favourites going to Glasgow last weekend and lived up to expectations without too much fuss, beating The Bhoys 2-0 to take a strong lead home to Mestalla.

The Scots will be hoping to save face here and put in a performance that will allow them to bow out with their dignity intact, but that’s a big ask and punters expect them to come up short again, making the local cheer a convincing jolly.

Valencia put one foot in the next round with victory seven days ago, the result achieved thanks to goals from Cheryshev just before the break and Sobrino four minutes after the re-start. It was a below-par performance from Brendan Rodgers’ men and their opponents were shrewd enough to take full advantage. Happy to let their opponents dominate possession – the match stats reading 64% – 36% – the victors capitalised on a number of defensive errors made by the Glasgow side.

Marcelino will be confident in his side’s ability to finish the job in front of their own fans, knowing The Hoops need a footballing miracle, but 2-0 will ensure we see the La Liga giants field a strong side as they aim to cross the line with minimal drama. They warmed up for this match with a hard-fought goalless draw at this venue on Sunday when hosting Espanyol, meaning Los Ches have kept a clean-sheet in each of their last three games in all competitions.

Celtic players will know they only have themselves to blame if this one goes as expected and their European adventure ends on Thursday. Fans can take heart from the fact they’ll return home with a great chance of landing yet another domestic treble this term after seeing Rangers fall off the pace, but a lack of any real progress on the continent will worry the board. There was investment in the side last month, but they continue to make the same foolish mistakes when stepping up a level.

A battling 1-0 win over Kilmarnock on Sunday shows why they are champions and in the driving seat for yet another Scottish top-flight crown. Scott Brown was expected to leave the club in January but decided to see out the campaign and scored a dramatic winner at Rugby Park with 90 minutes on the clock, sparking a pitch invasion for fans. The captain was shown a second yellow card for celebrating the goal with supporters in a match both teams finished with 10 men. Rodgers told members of the press at full-time he feels for Brown after falling victim to a rule that spoils the game.

An improved effort is expected from Celtic who will be better organised on the road, but the majority of support is coming for the home win in this one and there’s no surprise in that. Backers of Valencia will find them trading at [1.63] on the Betfair Exchange, against the bulky [6.6] of their opponents, the draw [4.1]. That looks to be about right, in our opinion, and we expect to see The Oranges feature in a fair shar of midweek accumulators.

We already mentioned Valencia’s water-tight defence that hasn’t been broken in over 270 minutes of football this month. With chances expected to be thin on the ground for The Bhoys, a home win to nil at 6/4 on the Sportsbook looks a decent alternative for those wanting an interest at better odds, no on the both teams to score coupon 20/23.

With home fans confident the job has already been done, we don’t expect to see Marcelina send his side out on the attack. Happy from how the first leg went, they’ll prefer to dominate the middle of the park and take any chances that come their way. Celtic’s defensive frailties ensure they should get one or two.

Valencia will look to protect the good work they did in Glasgow, so we don’t see this turning into a goal-fest. Take under 2.5 goals in your accumulators at 10/11, a better bet than shooting for the 4/5 offered on over 2.5 goals – both quotes taken from the Betfair Sportsbook.