Celtic vs Atl. Madrid prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2023-10-24 19:00.
It’s crunch time in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) for Scottish champions Celtic, who have reached the point of no return after losing both of their opening two group matches. The most recent of which, a 2-1 reverse to Lazio, saw Brendan Rodgers’ men concede the decisive goal in the 95th minute, but that doesn’t appear to have dented confidence levels at Parkhead, domestically at least, as the Bhoys have strung together six successive league victories either side of their UCL defeats.
Translating domestic form into Europe has been troublesome for a long time as Celtic have won just two of their last 28 matches in the UCL proper (D5, L21) – last winning a home match in the group stages against Ajax a little over ten years ago (D2, L9). The visit of AtlĂ©tico Madrid therefore presents a huge challenge, not least because of Celtic’s dreadful record against Spanish opposition (W8, D5, L23), a sequence that includes nine defeats from their last ten matches against such opponents (W1).
Diego Simeone’s men look primed to capitalise, as since conceding a 95th-minute goal of their own against Lazio to draw 1-1 on matchday one, Atlético have won six successive matches in all competitions. That includes twice coming from behind to defeat Feyenoord in their last UCL outing, placing them at the Group E summit ahead of their double-header with Celtic.
Atléti will look to lean on their dominant H2H record (W4, D2) in their first meeting with the Scottish giants in this competition since 1974, and they may be looking for inspiration wherever they can get it considering their five-match winless run on the road in the UCL group stages. Travelling hasn’t been a huge problem this season domestically however, with each of the Mattress Makers’ three away wins accompanied by a clean sheet, while Simeone’s men netted 12 times across those victories.
Players to watch: Celtic’s Kyogo Furuhashi was on target on matchday two, part of a run of eight of his last ten club goals arriving before half-time. Antoine Griezmann bagged his fourth Atléti hat-trick against Celta on Saturday night, equalling Radamel Falcao’s total of the most trebles for the club in the 21st century.
Hot streak: Atletico have scored 2+ goals in six successive matches in all competitions.