Celtic v Borussia Mönchengladbach Betting Tips

Having taken just one point between them from their opening two matches, this is a must-win game for both Celtic and Gladbach, especially if they’re serious about standing any chance whatsoever of making it out of this group – although with Barcelona and Manchester City for company, qualification to the last 16 might be out of reach for this pair and thus the race for third spot (Europa League knockouts) is on.

These two were both humbled on match-day one – Gladbach slumped to a 4-0 defeat against Man City, while Celtic offered virtually no resistance as they were slaughtered 7-0 by Barcelona – but, both showed plenty of character on match-day two and could easily have come away with better results. Celtic lead three times against Manchester City only to find themselves pegged back each time, while Gladbach were arguably the better team against Barcelona for the best part of an hour before letting their lead slip and eventually losing 2-1.

Despite not winning last time out, both sides will have taken plenty of positives out of those matches and must surely be viewing this as a winnable game. With this in mind, the focus could be very much on attack tonight and the fans at Celtic Park should be treated to an exciting game.

From a betting point of view, there’s only one way to play this one and that’s goals. At odds of 13/8, ‘Over 3.5 Goals’ is the bet to be on.

With neither of these teams being great at the back, there’s plenty of reason for both to feel positive about their chances going forward and an attacking spectacle is expected.

Starting with the visitors, Gladbach don’t really do low-scoring matches. The German outfit like to play an attacking game and are rarely seen wasting a chance to get players forward. Unsurprisingly they tend to score a lot of goals, however, the result of playing such an expansive game isn’t always positive and they’re also prone to conceding quite a few.

At least four goals were scored in four of Gladbach’s five competitive away matches this season, as well as in three of their Champions League games (two play-offs). And although André Schubert’s side have only scored one goal in Group C so far, they can be forgiven this considering that their two opponents have been Manchester City (away) and Barcelona (home). Celtic, without doing the hosts a disservice, are a lesser side and Gladbach should be capable of causing them plenty of problems.

As for Celtic, well it’s pretty clear from their first two group matches that, despite being a spirited side, they can easily be got at. Barcelona made light work of dismantling them and Man City, although they didn’t win, had plenty of joy going forward at Celtic Park. While this Celtic side are certainly fancied to do some damage of their own in an attacking sense – let’s face it Gladbach aren’t the toughest side defensively – it’s hard to imagine them not coming under real pressure in the defensive third.

All in all, we’re talking about two sides who’ve got serious questions marks surrounding their respective defences, as well as having more than capable forward-lines – this points to one thing: goals, goals and more goals.

See more Champions League tips here.