Wednesday, August 8, at 19:45, Celtic Glasgow is due to AEK Athens in the first leg of the Preliminary Round 3 of the UEFA Champions League. Very strong on the ground, Brendan Rodgers’s band needs a win to score to secure a comfortable advantage before the second leg in Greece.
Rodgers did not have Ajer, Bitton and Dembele, injured, but Celtic enjoyed a large lot, with reserves as the holders. There are no batch problems at AEK, and the Greek coach has made it clear that the guests will come to “Celtic Park” to make a speculative game, based on an organized defensive. Counterattacks will be the guns of the Greeks! AEK will accept the domination of the hosts, but that could cost the Greeks, because Celtic has good, fast and experienced footballers, and Rodgers is a very well-calculated manager.
In order to reach this stage, Celtic has moved away from Alashkert without emotion and Rosenborg, with some work done: 3-1 in the tour (after the Nordics led 1-0 in Scotland) and 0-0 in the second hand, from Norway. AEK Athens came directly into the Preliminary Round 3 and looked good enough in the summer, after 0-0 with Larnaca, 0-0 with Atromitos and 3-2 with Galatasaray. As expected, yellow-blacks put a great deal of defense, just like any other club in Greece. The passivity of the Greek game will be the key of bets in the first hand, when the hosts will dominate.
31 sutures to the goal in the last match!
Celtic comes after a 3-1 easy in the championship, with Livingston, the game in which the hosts did not have to use too much. The goals scored quickly by Rogic (8) and Edouard (26 and 50), and the good news for the white-green is the return of Leigh Griffiths, Celtic’s scorer in the last seasons. The guests have scored the goal of honor in overtime, in a match in which Celtic had 32 sutures in the goal and 20 placed on the gate. We are counting on a Celtic victory, at least to the minimum difference.
PREDICTION: Celtic to win @ 1.70
