Celtic took a massive step towards the final round of Champions League qualifying with a win over Linfield, with manager Brendan Rodgers hoping for no hiccups during their second leg at Celtic Park on Wednesday. Goals from Scott Sinclair and Tom Rogic have given the Scottish champions a strong lead over the Northern Irish double winners, with only a minor miracle seeing Linfield progress to the next round.
With many looking to beat the bookmakers by backing Celtic to again earn a victory, a closer look at the two teams will demonstrate their difference in quality. As well as this, our top betting tip will provide a betting method to use in order to potentially win big at the end of 90 minutes.
Celtic Form
Having gone the whole of last season undefeated in the Scottish top-flight, Celtic have picked up where they left off, showing their class to overcome Linfield in Belfast last time out. The Hoops dominated the majority of the action at Windsor Park, with Lee Griffiths and Sinclair a constant threat. With Moussa Dembele likely to return to the starting line-up at Celtic Park on Wednesday, the Frenchman will fancy his chances of opening his account for the new season. New signing, Eboue Kouassi, could also be in line for a first competitive start for Celtic, with five of their players having collected yellow cards during a heated first-leg encounter. Rodgers may well use the opportunity to rest some of his key players, with his fringe players more than capable of filling in in their absence.
Linfield Form
Having battled to no avail during the second half at Windsor Park, Linfield will be visiting Glasgow more in hope than expectation, with manager David Healy looking to pull off the biggest managerial win of his career. Linfield had previously conceded just one goal in their last five home matches before their first leg match with Celtic, however a trip to Celtic Park will be a daunting prospect for the rank outsiders. Captain Andrew Waterworth will once again be expected to provide the main goal scoring threat for the visitors.
Top Betting Tip
Given their dominance during the first leg, as well as their lack of playing talent, it is difficult to look beyond a comfortable home win for Celtic. However, with many bookmakers offering extremely short odds on them doing so, simply backing the Scottish champions to win is unlikely to see you win any significant amounts of money. As a result, our top betting tip for the match is to bet on Celtic to win both the first and second halves, which has best odds of 1/4 at Ladbrokes.