Celtic survived a huge scare in the previous round of the Champions League qualifiers after succumbing to Gibraltan minnows Lincoln Red Imps in the first leg before comprehensively beating them at home. Brendan Rodgers has many injury concerns going into this match in Kazakhstan with his defence pretty much decimated or unavailable. Additionally he has previously stated he is dreading the fact that his side must fly to Kazakhstan and play on a plastic pitch – perhaps already the scent of surrender in this message?
The side from Glasgow have failed to live up to past European glories and great Champions League nights at Celtic Park in the last couple of years and questions will be asked regarding the long-term future of the club if they once again fail to make the Champions League group stages.
FC Astana are top of the Kazakh league at the midway point of their domestic season. This is quite an achievement when you consider the riches that have been poured into their title rivals Kairat in the last year or so. They reached the group stages of last season’s Champions League and will be looking to repeat that feat in this campaign.
The bookies make Astana the favourites and it is hard to disagree. As previously mentioned, Celtic seem to have a lot of troubles at the moment whilst Astana are in great form. The Kazakh side to win at 6/4 is very reasonable.
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