These two sides are top of their respective leagues and are the undisputed favourites to claim both the Scottish and English Premier League titles this season. However, on the European stage it is a completely different story. On match-day one Celtic were humiliated 7-0 at Barcelona whilst Manchester City thrashed Borussia Monchengladbach 4-0 at the Etihad. Surely only one winner here?
Pretty much everybody at Celtic; fans, manager and players, described the club’s 7-0 loss at the Nou Camp as humiliating and disgraceful. Of course beatings can happen at the hands of teams likes Barcelona but it was more the manner of the defeat that disappointed fans as they simply gave up and hid from their duty. A crying shame when you consider some of the great results Celtic have achieved previously against Barcelona in the Champions League.
As previously mentioned, Celtic are top of their league having won five and drawn just one – away at Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the match after the Barca defeat. Going forward they look potent at domestic level with the likes of Leigh Griffiths, Scott Sinclair and Old Firm derby hat-trick hero Moussa Dembele. However, these players are hardly going to scare the giants of European football. Defence has been a slight problem for Brendan Rodgers this season with his side conceding eight goals. Not bad on the face of it, but they have been letting in a few needless and cheap goals here and there which needs to be cut out immediately, especially if they are to have any chance of picking up even a draw in this tough Champions League group.
We all know how electric the atmosphere can be at Celtic Park on a big European night, however, unfortunately the noise the fans make does not make average players any better.
What can you say about Manchester City? We are running out of superlatives for the Citizens who have started life incredibly well under Pep Guardiola. The 100% record in all competitions speaks for itself. At the weekend it was another match and another win as City defeated Swansea, who they beat in the EFL League Cup midweek, despite not playing very well – the sign of an excellent team.
There is no doubt that Guardiola’s side are fighting it out with Barcelona for the top spot in Group C and their match against the Spanish champions in a fortnight’s time should be a real spectacle – Celtic are merely an obstacle for City to overcome.
It would be incredibly daft here to have any bet against City for Wednesday’s match as they should be able to get passed Celtic with ease. Whilst a couple of the markets aren’t appealing at the prices, there are a couple of good betting options out there.
Firstly I would go with ‘Manchester City to Score Over 2.5 Goals’. The Citizens have scored at least this amount in six games out of 10 this season and, with some of the best attacking and most creative players in the world at their disposal, you would imagine that City will find the back of the net several times on Wednesday against a Celtic side who probably will not be able to cope.
Goalscorer bets are usually hard with Manchester City with the likes of Sergio Aguero offering very little return Emerging Nigerian star Kelechi Iheanacho has been earning punters a decent profit over the last few weeks as he as deputised for the suspended Aguero. However, given his excellent form during that time, bookies have shortened odds on him to 21/20 – a price which is too low to warrant getting involved, especially considering he may only be on the bench.
Raheem Sterling is the one I would back here. After a poor season last year following his £50m move from Liverpool, the England winger has got a new lease of life under the guidance of Pep Guardiola. The former Queen’s Park Rangers trainee already has four goals in six Premier League appearances this season and has scored in two games on the trot. Going up against this Celtic defence, I would expect Sterling to have another good game and he should find himself the recipient of several goal-scoring chances here.
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