Huge game for Celtic and a huge night for newly appointed manager Ange Postecoglou as they take on Danish outfit Midtjylland tonight at Celtic Park. The Australian who has managed in some massive games previously including at the World Cup has said he is excited for a ‘special night’ in Glasgow this evening. The first-leg tie will also see the largest crowd in attendance at Celtic Park in almost 18 months and Postecoglou is eager to send the fan base home happy. Approximately 9,000 fans are allowed to attend and I am sure the atmosphere will be rocking at Celtic Park tonight.
Who are FC Midtjylland?
European football is nothing new for FC Midtjylland who have been one of the most successful teams in Denmark in recent years. They finished runners-up in their native SuperLiga last season but started off the new campaign in the worst possible fashion by losing 2-1 at home to Odense on Friday night.
An interesting fact about FC Midtjylland is they are owned by English businessman Matthew Benham who is also the owner of newly-promoted Premier League outfit, Brentford. He is a founder of his own betting company and made the majority of his millions in the professional gambling industry. He also ensures the clubs he owns are driven by data analytics, he focuses on statistics and algorithmic philosophy that he absolutely believes in. The managers he employs must also believe in this method or will be swiftly moved on as former Brentford manager Mark Warburton found out back in May 2015.
Celtic have never played Midtjylland before but Rangers eased past them in Europa League qualifying in 2019, winning 7-3 on aggregate. Celtic have won seven of their 14 matches against Danish opposition in Europe, losing four. The hoops are bookmakers favourites to qualify for the next round and will be expected to take a lead to Denmark for the second leg which takes placed next Wednesday (28th July).
Celtic Team News
Celtic haven’t had the ideal start to preseason suffering a 1-0 loss to Preston at the weekend and have a fair few injury absences going into tonight. It is thought that this game will come too soon for both Dembele and Johnston who are still working their way back to full fitness. Recent signings Liel Abada and Kyogo Furuhashi are also not in the squad as they are not deemed quite ready. Meanwhile both Kristoffer Ajer and Olivier Ntcham have been left out of Celtic’s Champions League squad. Ajer is reportedly close to sealing a move to Brentford while Ntcham is also thought to be on the move. On a more positive note Leigh Griffiths has been deemed ‘ready to go’ by his manager and is available having missed much of preseason due to some off the field issues.
FC Midtjylland Team News
As for the Danes well there are a couple of key absences for FCM tonight which Celtic will be keen to take advantage of. Sory Kaba was their leading scorer with 14 goals last season but the Guinea striker was missing for Friday’s loss to Odense amid reports he wants to leave and it is thought won’t be involved tonight. Winger Aril Simsir is also unavailable having recently tested positive for coronavirus. There are also doubts surrounding the fitness of holding midfielder Nicolas Madsen who limped off injured in their 2-1 defeat to Odense on Friday night.
Who will Celtic or FC Midtjylland play next in the Champions League?
The task won’t get any easier for Celtic should they manage to get past Midtjylland in this one. The draw for the third qualifying round has been made with Turkish giants Galatasaray or Dutch runners-up PSV Eindhoven awaiting in the next round who in theory should pose an even bigger challenge than FCM. Those games are to be played the first week in August and it certainly won’t be easy for Celtic to reach the Champions League group stages this season.
Celtic v FC Midtjylland free betting tips
As always it may be wise to wait for lineups to ensure the players you select for your bets are starting. Should both teams line up the way I’m expecting the here are my tips for the game this evening.
Anthony Ralston to be Booked
If there’s been one beneficiary of the recruitment chaos at Parkhead this summer, it’s been Anthony Ralston. The 22-year-old earned himself a new one-year-deal at the start of the summer largely owing to being the only right back on Celtic’s books. He’s not a player capable of playing at this level and has only really had two half seasons at senior level with any sort of consistent playing time.
The first of those was with Dundee United in the Scottish Championship, where he picked up four yellow cards in 15 games. He had a second loan spell away from Celtic two seasons ago, where he found himself carded six times in just 22 matches for St. Johnstone. There’s an argument to whether he’s capable of playing at Premiership level, let alone against a strong Midtjylland side in the Champions League.
He’ll be in for a real test, should Ralston start, tonight in the shape of Danish winger Pione Sisto. The former Celta Vigo speedster is a nightmare to defend against, with Danish Superliga defenders fouling him 2.68 times per 90 last season. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Ralston replicate those numbers tonight, with Sisto capable of terrorising far better players than someone like Ralston who’s hardly kicked a ball as a professional.
Referee Sandro Scharer is a pretty steady ref at this level, handing out 3.13 yellows per non-league game last season (Champions League, Europa League, Nations League). For reference, that average would’ve put him in the top six for yellows given out in the English Premier League last season. He also handed out 3.93 yellows per Swiss Super League game he officiated last campaign too.
The best odds I’ve seen for a Ralston yellow are with William Hill @ 3.75.
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Both Teams to Score
The first legs of European ties aren’t always the most goal-laden affairs with teams trying to suss each other out but I think there’s plenty of reasons why we might be seeing some goals at Parkhead tonight.
Firstly, and most importantly, that Celtic defence is a disgrace. They’re just away to lose Kristoffer Ajer, their only defender of any real quality, and have yet to replace him or address the serious issue of the right back spot (see above). The back four tonight should read as Ralston, Stephen Welsh, Nir Bitton and Greg Taylor. That’s a shambles. Midtjylland have lost a bit of quality themselves this summer but most Scottish Premiership sides would fancy their chances against that bunch of squad players, let alone a European level side.
Where there is cause for optimism for Celtic is up top. Odsonne Edouard is still at the club despite entering the final year of his contract and all of the speculation linking him to some massive clubs (and Brighton) and the Frenchman should lead the line tonight. He’ll likely be supported by Ryan Christie (another in-demand Celtic star with little time left on his current deal) and David Turnbull. That should be enough to trouble their Danish counterpart’s defence, something they’ll likely have to do to stay in the tie with that defence behind them.
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Celtic v FC Midtjylland Both Teams to Score @ 1.67 at Paddy Power
How to watch Celtic v FC Midtjylland in the Champions League
📅 When is Celtic v Midtjylland? / Tuesday, 20 July 2021, 19:45 BST
🏟 Where is Celtic v Midtjylland taking place? / Celtic Park (Glasgow)
📺 What TV Channel is Celtic v Midtjylland on? / Premier Sports
📱 Online Live Streaming for Celtic v Midtjylland / bet365
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing *
