The Group E table doesn't make for pretty reading if you are a Celtic fan, so much so that even qualification for the Europa League now looks beyond them.
However, that's not to say they can't earn some credibility on the continent by picking up their first three points of the campaign against Shakhtar Donetsk at Parkhead on Tuesday night. And this fixture represents Celtic's best chance of winning a game in the group stage of the competition - the hosts are as short as 4/5 with Betfred to take maximum points, while Shakhtar are 3/1 to inlict more European misery on Ange Postecoglou's side.
The points were shared in the reverse fixture but Celtic did more than enough to win that game, dominating the Ukrainians on xG (1.6 vs 0.2) and racking up 16 efforts on goal compated to just five from the hosts. There was a strong feeling afterwards that Celtic had blown a big opportunity, especially as they got their noses in front early on.
Shakhtar are still very much in the hunt for second place along with RB Leipzig so they will be looking to take maximum points from this fixture, which would then put them in a stong position ahead of their final game against the Germans, which is shaping up to be a a shootout for second spot behind Real Madrid.
Shakhtar have scored at least once in all four of their Group F games so far and it's just 4/11 that Roberto De Zerbi's side continue that trend on Tuesday.
Celtic have only kept one clean sheet in all competitions since they thumped Rangers 4-0 at the beginning of September and that was in the Scottish Cup against Motherwell. The Hoops are conceding an average of just over two goals a game in this competition and that could just provide us with a betting angle into this contest.
Prediction for Celtic vs Shakhtar Donetsk
Celtic are a short price for this and on the evidence of their performance in Warsaw, where the first game between the sides took place, that looks justified. However, Celtic can't seem to do clean sheets in this competition and it's unlikely to be any different this time.
Both teams to score is tight enough at 8/13 so a better value play might just be to back Shakhtar to score more than one goal, which is an appealing 7/4 chance with Betfred.
Prediction for Celtic vs Shakhtar Donetsk: Over 1.5 Shakhtar Donetsk Goals - 7/4
Celtic vs Shakhtar Donetsk odds with Betfred
- Celtic - 4/5
- Draw - 11/4
- Shakhtar Donetsk - 3/1
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