Outright tournament tips Juventus will probably have been
relatively pleased with their last 16 draw against Juventus but such
complacency seems unwise and the best bet for their opening tie against the
Scots may well be for a high scoring encounter. With no Rangers in the SPL,
Celtic are effectively walking over what must be Europe’s least competitive
league and it’s clearly been working the oracle with regards to Europe, as Neil
Lennon’s side have been able to raise their game on each and every single occasion
against the best clubs on the continent so far as their group games have shown.
When the group stage draw put them with Barcelona, Spartak
Moscow and Benfica, many saw them as certainties to drop out of Europe but ever
since their Matchday 1 draw they’ve never looked like the pushover s many had
actually seen them as beforehand and a group record which sees them with a
three from 3 home record and only one defeat – a last minute goal for Barcelona
at the Camp Nou of all places actually being required to deny them what would
have been a famous point - marks them down as a serious force to be reckoned
with on this stage. What should be more notable for doubters of the scots is
the stark improvement that the Hoops have actually made from SPL to Champions
League. Their opening matchday draw with Benfica followed a 2-1 loss to St
Johnstone, their 2-1 win against Barcelona followed a 2-2 draw at Dundee, and
their 2-1 win over Spartak Moscow came after failing to find the goals needed
to beat Abroath at home. So it’s safe to say that Regardless of the result
before, Celtic can raise their game in a heartbeat for the Champions League.
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| Arturo Vidal and Fabio Qaugriella both provide scoring threat |
This is especially true of them at home, where only
Barcelona – in 2004/05 and 2007/08 – are the only team to have won in Glasgow
in Celtic’s last 23 home games barring qualifiers, which is enough to at least
make the 4/5 on Juventus avoidable, even if more than fair given the quality
that the Italians will travel with. Winners of Serie A without losing a game
last season, Juventus haven’t been anywhere near as invincible this season but
are still 5 points clear at the head of the Italian league despite a poor run
of form by their standards of just 5 points from 12 matches, with missed
chances costing them badly against Genoa, Sampdoria and to a point Parma, while
Lazio’s dramatic semi – final win in the Coppa Italia basically owed to Claudio
Marchisio missing a near-open goal at the death. A 2-0 win against Fiorentina
could and should have been more but proved to be the perfect warm up for this
and Juventus have scored 23 goals on the road – just 4 less than their home
total – but with a number of chances having gone missing and the all-important
Giorgio Chillieni out, some careful consideration has to be taken before going
in at odds on. A better bet at the same price looks to be the option for over
2.5 goals, which comes into the game as second favourite of the two options on reputation
mainly given how strong Juventus have been in defence over course of the group
stages, but both their games against Chelsea went overs (albeit with late
goals) and two of Celtic’s three at home have also gone overs too. Infact the Celts
have scored 2 at home in their last two Champions League home games, while
Juventus have scored in each one of their last 15.
Advice
2 pts Both teams to score (23/20 Bet Victor)
1 pt over 2.5 goals (21/20 Sportingbet)
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