Celtic Park is the venue for Celtic versus Atletico Madrid on Wednesday evening. The visitors are the favorites and they have beat Celtic on the last two occasions.
Celtic
The Hoops are the only unbeaten side in the Scottish Premiership this season and it looks likely that they will be winning the title in consecutive campaigns. After nine matches, they are on 25 points, winning eight games. Celtic have been scoring for fun (23 goals), but Brendan Rodgers has also solidified the back line, conceding only six.
Celtic's biggest strength is their ability to dictate the tempo of a game, whilst playing direct, sometimes risky, football. Unfortunately for them, they have struggled to adapt in Europe and they sit bottom of Group E. Their first match was a 2-0 defeat to Feyenoord, where they picked up two red cards just after the hour mark. Rodgers' sides most recent UCL game saw them suffer a 2-1 home defeat to Lazio but they were arguably the better team on the night.
Atletico Madrid
Diego Simeone's Atletico are one of the most in form teams in Europe at the moment and they have won their previous six matches across all competitions. In La Liga, they are in fourth place on 22 points, three points behind top with a game in hand. Atletico have conceded the second least amount of goals in the league (8), whilst scoring the second most (23), which clearly highlights how strong they are as an overall package.
Last time out in the UCL, Atletico Madrid picked up their first three points by narrowly beating Feyenoord 3-2 at the Civitas Metropolitano. Simeone's side rode their luck throughout the game and if the visitors had their shooting boots on, they would have probably taken the three points. The boss will be content that his side bounced back from being behind twice in the first half to complete the comeback minutes after the break, but Atletico were uncharacteristically vulnerable at the back.
Verdict?
Atletico should have too much quality for Celtic and I expect them to silence the crowd via frustration. Celtic's attacking minded approach could cost them here or potentially catch the Spanish side off guard.
The final prediction is Celtic 1-2 Atletico Madrid.
