Champions League
2024-11-27 - Celtic vs Club Brugge
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: UEFA Champions League Group Stage
Wednesday 27th November 2024 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Celtic
He was not completely trusted by the fans when returning as manager, but Brendan Rodgers is winning the Celtic faithful over. There was much criticism for the tactics employed in Celtic's heavy loss at Borussia Dortmund on Match Day 2 of the Champions League, but the results around that one have been decent and Celtic will be thinking about Knock Out Football in this competition.
The 7-1 defeat in Dortmund would have hurt Brendan Rodgers as much as any Celtic fans, but he will be proud of the 7 points earned in the other three Champions League matches against Slovan Bratislava, Atalanta and Leipzig. Most believe that 10 points should earn a spot in the Play Off Round of the Knock Outs in February and so this feels like a very important fixture for Celtic as they look to move past that total as soon as possible.
Celtic have won 6 in a row in all competitions since earning the goalless draw in Bergamo on Match Day 3 and that includes beating Leipzig 3-1 here. The side have been very strong at home for months and Celtic have only failed to win one game at Celtic Park since mid-February.
Club Brugge
They may have benefited from a rush of blood to the head from Tyrone Mings, but Club Brugge fans and players will not care about that having placed a second Champions League win on the board. An unfortunate loss in Milan was suffered on Match Day 3, but Club Brugge look to have rounded out into much better form and so will be playing with a lot more confidence going into this fixture.
The side have earned 6 points in the Group, although that is only good for 22nd place in the big Champions League table. With that in mind, this feels like a pretty pivotal fixture for Club Brugge who will finish the Group Stage with fixtures against Sporting Lisbon, Juventus and Manchester City.
Club Brugge are unbeaten in 6 games in all competitions since their 3-1 loss to AC Milan and they have won 5 of those matches to really build some momentum. The victory over Aston Villa on Match Day 4 of the Champions League has really given Club Brugge a boost, but the side have won 1 of their last 3 away games in all competitions.
Head to Head
This is the first time these two clubs are meeting in a competitive fixture.
Prediction
The idea of the new format of the Champions League is that we would see 'bigger' matches earlier in the tournament, but also that it would offer clubs from outside the top European Leagues a chance to have an impact in the competition.
It has been a long time since the likes of Celtic and Club Brugge would feel that they have a genuine chance to come through the Group format of the Champions League, but they meet on Match Day 5 with that ambition very much in front of them.
Club Brugge have impressed and need to be respected, but they are visiting Celtic Park where the Scottish Champions have been very strong all season. That includes thumping wins over Slovan Bratislava and Leipzig in the Champions League and Brendan Rodgers is clearly having a positive impact on the squad.
The 7-1 defeat at Borussia Dortmund really did sting and Rodgers took the brunt of the criticism for his tactics used, but the manager has long felt Celtic need to take the game to opponents to have their best chance of having consistent success.
He has proven to be correct so far and Celtic might have enough to edge past Club Brugge in this big game.
It would not be a surprise if both teams score, but at the end of the night it may be Celtic who have taken a big step towards the Play Off Round of the Champions League, which will be played in February.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
Celtic 2-1 Club Brugge
