Sarajevo v Celtic
Tuesday, 18:45
Live on Premier Sports
Tough start
Scottish Premiership champions Celtic face a tough start to their Champions League adventure when travelling to Bosnia on Tuesday evening. The Hoops are off to the near 35,000 capacity Asim Ferhatovic Hase Stadium where they will face Premier League BH champions FK Sarajevo in the first of a qualifying round double header.
The Scots are favourites to progress but must avoid an early collapse to ensure the tie remains live heading to Glasgow eight days later. It may be the early stages of the competition, but we’re delighted to say football betting is back and you can have your say on a number of exciting markets at Betfair.
Giants cut down to size by Atalanta
Divovi suffered a humiliating defeat in Europe last season when hammered by Atalanta in the Europa League qualifying second round. They caused a bit of a shock when holding on for a 2-2 draw at the Citta del Tricolore, goals from Toloi and Mancini cancelled out by a second half fightback led by Handzic and Sisic. A draw and a couple of away goals suggested Sarajevo had half a chance of sneaking through, but their ambitions were squashed in the replay. Atalanta flexed their muscles to record an emphatic 8-0 win in the return leg.
Sarajevo, led by former Hearts striker Husre Musemic, enjoyed more success domestically when blazing a trail of glory to another top-flight title. They finished with stats of 21 wins, seven draws and five defeats, ending five points clear of the chasing pack. Making life as uneasy as possible for Celtic will be their main aim on Tuesday but it’s difficult to make a strong case for the locals getting anything out of this contest.
Lennon has fond memories
Neil Lennon returns to Champions League football as manager of Celtic, having earned the job on a permanent basis following a successful stint as interim manager. The Northern Irishman holds fond memories of leading The Hoops to success in this competition and will be eager to bring back the glory days, but to have any chance of doing that he must lead his team through a difficult qualifying campaign. Being dropped in at the qualifying first round stage isn’t ideal, but it’s something everyone in green and white must get on with.
The Scottish champions made their first signing of the summer when snapping up Christopher Jullien from Toulouse from a hefty £7m. The French defender has experience playing at a high level in recent seasons and should slot into the Celtic backline effortlessly. Lennon told the press upon the arrival of Jullien that he’s a player who has all the attributes the team are looking for. The manager will be hoping his newbie can help fix the frailties of Celtic’s defence in Europe.
Celtic must guard against complacency
It’s little surprise to learn Celtic are hot favourites on the Betfair Sportsbook to win this match and in the to qualify market. A win away from home would see the Scots put one foot in the next round but it is still very early in the season and the players must guard against complacency. This will be the first game of note for the visitors since beating Hearts in the Scottish Cup final back in May. The away win can be backed at 6/10.
We’ve seen Celtic suffer a few horror shows away from home in Europe but there’s not a lot in this Sarajevo side to suggest they will pull off an upset. The locals have limited experience of playing Champions League football and, as mentioned, they were blown away when coming up against decent opposition in the Europa League last term. A fast start is needed, but there won’t be a lot of interest in the 4/1 offered for a home cheer.
Back the clean sheet
There’s plenty to pick through in the specials markets which offer more value. If you believe Celtic are good enough to win this game, it may be worth having your cash down on how they will achieve the result. Keeping calm in defence and taking a clean sheet back to Parkhead will be top on their list of priorities and you can back no both teams to score at 4/5.
There’s enough in that price to back as a super single but if you’ve been missing a midweek football accumulator you could add the total goals market to your predictions. Under 2.5 gets the nod at 4/5 or there’s evens if you expect a free scoring evening.
Source: Betfair Champions League
