Celtic v Linfield Betting Tips: No hope for the visitors

With Celtic already holding a 2-0 lead going into the second leg of this tie, this qualifier is pretty much done and dusted with Celtic likely to now go through to the next stage. Value on the market is hard to find for this match but there are a couple of options if you look carefully.

Although we are entering a new season, you cannot escape Celtic’s fantastic form last year which saw them win the Scottish title at a canter, breaking several records along the way. The challenge for The Hoops now is to make a bigger impact in Europe.

As you would expect from a side who won the league without suffering a single defeat last term, Brendan Rodgers’ men were sublime in both boxes, topping the offensive and defensive charts in the 2016/17 season. Despite the fact they have had defensive frailties in Europe in recent years, this tie against Linfield at Celtic Park should not present too much of a problem.

The Bhoys have won all but two of their league games on home soil since 24th April 2016 which shows just how strong a fortress Celtic Park is. Additionally, despite being a relatively uncompetitive side in the Champions League, Celtic usually pull results out of the bag at home and have lost just twice in their last nine Champions League matches in Glasgow.

It can be said that Linfield actually did a rather good job of limiting Celtic to just two goals in the previous fixture, however, the fact that they failed to find the back of the net in that crucial home leg will likely come back to bite them here. Historically, Linfield are the best club side in Northern Ireland and have won 52 Irish titles overall, however, the European level is clearly a step too far at the moment.

Much like Celtic in Scotland last term, David Healy’s Linfield side were sublime at both ends of the field in the 2016/17 campaign with 87 goals scored and just 24 conceded in 38 league games – both of these statistics being the best in the division. Again though, it must be said that the Champions League is a completely different animal than the NIFL Premiership and so this statistics almost become irrelevant. Having said that, prior to that match against Celtic, Linfield had kept three consecutive clean sheets in the Champions League. Unfortunately though, goals are needed for them in Glasgow rather than clean sheets.

The Blues have a pretty poor record on their travels in the Champions League and have failed to win a game in normal time in their entire history. One thing that they will perhaps take a bit of confidence from is their three consecutive Europa League away wins between 2013 and 2015 but that is clutching at straws.

As mentioned previously, the value is not great on this match, however, I think I have spotted a little gem in the goals market with ‘2-3 Goals Exact’ priced at 39/20. Many people are expecting a thrashing here but I am not convinced as Celtic are still in the middle of pre-season and are therefore not at full strength. Furthermore, when we look back to last year’s Champions League qualifier against Gibraltan side Lincoln Red Imps, many were expecting a huge barrage of Celtic goals which never came (the match finished 3-0) and I think we will see a similar situation against Linfield on Wednesday.