Wednesday 18th July 1945hrs Celtic v Alashkert Football – Europe – Champions League Now that all the fun and fare of this summer’s World Cup is over and done with, concentration and focus moves back to club football and although we’re a few weeks away from the start of the domestic season in the UK, teams are involved in the early stages of European qualifying. Celtic are starting one round earlier than normal following a rejig of Champions League qualification but they already have one foot in the second round thanks to a 3-0 win over the Armenian champions last Tuesday. The two go head to head for the second leg in Glasgow and we have the best betting tips for Celtic against Alashkert.
The season seems to start earlier and earlier for Brendan Rodgers and his players and as such, becomes harder each season in their attempts to reach the group stages of the Champions League. That is the immediate aim for Celtic and where they get the financial rewards that are simply not available in the Scottish domestic game, but more importantly it is where this club want to be competing. Last year seen them finish third in a very difficult group and reach the Europa League knockout stages. European football after Christmas is where Celtic will be targeting once again and they have made the first step on that road by recording a comfortably 3-0 win against Alashkert eight days ago. The opposition alone were always unlikely to pose too much threat but the conditions could have been tricky in what was a searing heat. They overcame that pretty well and goals from record signing Odsonne Edouard, James Forrest and Callum McGregor have seemingly already done the job even though the second leg is still to come but Rodgers will be demanding complete professionalism on Wednesday ahead of more challenging fixtures to come over the next month.
Alashkert are probably not known to many but they are three-time Armenian champions and have had a couple of memorable moments in the Champions League over the last few years. They have won the first qualifying round in each of the last two seasons (against the same opponent, coincidentally) but have come undone in the next round. It looks as though they are not going to make it three times in a row but will be looking forward to the experience of playing at a stadium like Celtic Park. They were able to cause the Scottish champions some problems last week, especially in the first half, but it amounted to little and they know they will be in for a tough time of it but they will at least console themselves with the fact that if they do lose then they drop into the Europa League so are guaranteed at least a couple more games of European football which can only be a good thing for their development considering they are still a relatively novice outfit at this level.
Celtic v Alashkert Betting Tips
It looked like being a mismatch on paper when the draw was made and that is the way it’s looking heading into the second leg. Celtic’s class was obvious to see last week and all three goals were well taken by players who enjoyed excellent campaigns in 2017/18. Rodgers has been fairly quiet in the transfer market thus far but he tends to do his business later in the summer when more moves have been made. Until then it will be the players who have been so successful in the past couple of seasons who will be tasked with getting Celtic through these qualifiers. For tomorrow’s game the Celtic manager will field a similar team to the one who started the first leg as he attempts to get a fluency into the players as early as possible. Should they finish the job on Wednesday then Celtic will take on the winners of Icelandic champions Viking and Norwegian champions Rosenborg, whom they faced 12 months ago. It will be a step up in class no matter who prevails form that one, although it’s Viking who hold a narrow lead.
In relation to tomorrow’s game and finding a profitable selection, Celtic’s attack has been on fire early on in this campaign. In addition to scoring three in the first leg of this tie they also scored four in a pre season friendly against Standard Liege. Edouard, particular, has been great and his movement will be a huge problem for the Armenians tomorrow. He, along with his team mates, will be looking to continue in a similar fashion and I fancy them to do just that. Celtic eventually broke down their opponents in the closing stages of last week’s game but they can do that much more easily at home so take them to win both halves in Glasgow.
Celtic to win both halves 7/10 @ Betway
