Scottish champions Celtic host Belgian champions Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday, and we’ve got the latest team news and predicted lineups, as well as a score prediction alongside our preview.
Celtic vs Club Brugge Preview
Unbeaten in nine consecutive matches across all competitions, Brendan Rodgers and his Celtic side welcome Belgian champions Club Brugge to Glasgow on MD5 of the Champions League league phase on Wednesday.
The Bhoys fought from behind to secure a mighty 3-1 win over RB Leipzig on MD4, a result that propelled them up to 15th place in the table, building on a positive 0-0 draw against Atalanta on MD3.
Since the memorable win over Leipzig, Celtic have won back-to-back matches against Kilmarnock and Hearts in the Scottish Premiership, seeing them go three points clear at the top of the table ahead of Aberdeen.
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— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) November 26, 2024
Club Brugge, meanwhile, are in 22nd place in the Champions League table, currently in the play-off positions, having recorded an unlikely 1-0 win over then-unbeaten Premier League outfit Aston Villa last time out.
Managed by Nicky Hayen, formerly of Cymru Premier side Haverfordwest County, Blauw-Zwart have six points after two wins and two draws in Europe this term, beating Sturm Graz alongside Villa while losing to AC Milan and Dortmund.
They come into this one unbeaten in six straight matches, most recently playing out a thumping 7-0 victory over St. Truidense in the Belgian Pro League on Saturday. Prior to that, they drew 2-2 with Beerschot.
Celtic Team News
The Bhoys have just one injury concern heading into this one, according to reports, and that’s with Norwegian midfielder Odin Thiago Holm, who is expected to remain sidelined until next month with a calf issue.
Rodgers is likely to continue with the same front line that has proven incredibly successful thus far in 2024/25, with Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn and Japanese duo Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda.
German winger Kuhn has been especially impressive this term, netting 11 goals and providing 11 assists in 18 appearances, including two goals and one assist in the Champions League.
Club Brugge Team News
As for the visitors, they are without Bjorn Meijer (thigh) and Gustaf Nilsson (Achilles).
Other than that, it’s a clean bill of health for Hayen’s side, and they should be able to welcome back Andreas Skov Olsen, Ferran Jutgla, Joel Ordonez and Casper Nielsen to the lineup after they were benched on Saturday.
Celtic vs Club Brugge Predicted Lineups
Celtic Predicted Lineup:
Schmeichel; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Taylor; Engels, McGregor, Hatate; Kuhn, Furuhashi, Maeda
Club Brugge Predicted Lineup:
Mignolet; Seys, Ordonez, Mechele, De Cuyper; Nielsen, Vanaken, Jashari; Skov Olsen, Jutgla, Tzolis
Celtic vs Club Brugge Prediction
Despite Celtic enjoying a near-perfect start to the campaign, bar the 7-1 Borussia Dortmund battering in early October, we at SportsCasting believe this one could go either way, so we’re backing a stalemate to be played out at Parkhead.
Both sides have enjoyed strong unbeaten runs in recent weeks and will be brimming with confidence heading into the tie, especially when considering their impressive results on MD4. It’s hard to bet against either of them.
You can back a draw with some of the UK’s best football betting sites at around 5/2, while a 1-1 correct score bet is valued at around 6/1.
Prediction: Celtic 1-1 Club Brugge
