Celtic vs Real Madrid: Place Wager On In-Form Scottish Champions to Secure Shock Result
Tuesday 6th September - 20:00
When the draw was made for the Champions League group stages, the level of interest among those residing in Glasgow will have been immense.
Both Celtic and Rangers have made it to this stage and were hoping to be rewarded with either a series of games against notable opposition or groups that they could realistically qualify from. In reality, the two teams got a bit of both.
Celtic Marching On
If you are a fan of Celtic and feel like taking something of a risk with your Champions League betting strategy, then the group that Ange Postecoglou’s side secured is one that may be worth backing with a wager.
Celtic have started the Scottish Premiership season in incredible form, and having won their first five fixtures, they came up against local rivals Rangers on the weekend and duly thumped them 4-0, and in doing so, further illustrated how much they have progressed when compared to their Glasgow competitors.
Over the course of their first six domestic league games, Celtic have scored an incredible 31 goals and conceded just one, with Japanese forward Kyogo Furuhashi and Israeli Liel Abada netting six goals each and Portuguese star Jota bagging four.
England international Joe Hart continues to impress between the sticks and has revived a career that had gone stale and is a key member of the club’s set-up. Captain Callum McGregor is the team’s leader in the centre of the park and is the fulcrum for a Celtic side that appears to have no equal in the Scottish game.
So what then can they achieve in the Champions League? Well, they start their campaign with the visit of reigning title holders Real Madrid, and we’ll come back to that clash, but the encounters with Red Bull Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk may be games that Postecoglou’s men feel they can win.
Therefore qualification from the group is possible but will prove a real test for a team that knows how to win.
Real Madrid Looking to Retain Champions League title
Just as Celtic are putting domestic rivals to the sword, Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid side has a similar 100% record in La Liga action, albeit their wins haven’t been as clear-cut as those secured by their British opponents.
The Bernabeu side started the campaign with three successive away games and swept aside Almeria, Celta Vigo and Espanyol before overcoming Real Betis on home soil on the weekend.
Ancelotti brought in Antonio Rudiger to boost his defence and Aurelien Tchouameni from Monaco to provide some added steel in the centre of the park, but all in all, it’s pretty much the same nucleus of players that the Italian boss used to great effect in 2021/22, when they secured a La Liga and Champions League double.
They’ve managed to cut their wage bill significantly by finally offloading Gareth Bale while Marcelo, Isco and Luka Jovic have also left. You get the sense that the last-minute sale of Casemiro to Man United wasn’t necessarily one that Ancelotti wanted to make, but nonetheless, the situation at Real Madrid is healthy.
Best Bets
Celtic to Draw With Real Madrid - 3/1
The first couple of Champions League group fixtures tends to be the ones that cause the biggest upsets.
It’s almost as if the big guns aren’t quite ready to start their push for major honours, and that was certainly the case for Real Madrid in 2021/22 when they lost at home to Sheriff Tiraspol, and we feel that Celtic may be able to get the point from this clash at Celtic Park, and the odds offered by BoyleSports make this bet worth pursuing.
Celtic’s home form is pretty extraordinary. Their last domestic league defeat at home came back in January 2021. Also, their overall unbeaten run, which now stands at 38 Scottish Premiership fixtures, is indicative of a team that knows how to avoid defeat.
Obviously, Celtic don’t play teams on the calibre of Real Madrid week in, week out, but the tremendous support they’ll receive for this Champions League opener is almost worth a goal head start.
If Postecoglou’s side can start well and get the fans on their side, then Ancelotti’s men may struggle to break them down.
