Manchester City vs Celtic
UEFA Champions League – Group C
Date: Tuesday, 6th December 2016.
Kick-off at 19:45 UK.
Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester.
City will look to bounce back from Saturday's disappointing defeat at the hands of Chelsea in the Premier League, which saw both Fernandinho and Sergio Aguero receive late red cards. Both will be suspended in domestic competitions, forcing manager Pep Guardiola to look elsewhere.
The match against Celtic will give him the opportunity to experiment with his side and see who is best suited to replace the two, with Kelechi Iheanacho expected to fill in up front. The 20-year-old has enjoyed a solid season so far, but with Gabriel Jesus' arrival on the horizon, he could use the opportunity to show his value once more.
Per City's official website, Tomas Rogic wants Celtic to use this campaign as a learning experience, and Tuesday will be a part of that:
Our group has been very difficult. After not being in the competition for a couple of years, it's something that we're definitely learning from.
We have to make sure we're back there next season playing at that level because that's where the club deserves to be.
Celtic survived a spectacular 4-3 thriller against Motherwell on Saturday, once again showing their penchant for dramatics and scoring. Here's a look at the highlights:
Moussa Dembele remains the team's standout attacking talent, but City fans will keep an eye on loanee Patrick Roberts.
The 19-year-old made a brief appearance on Matchday 2 and hasn't featured all that much in the Champions League, but he's been a regular in the Scottish top division and should get the chance to gain some experience at the highest level against his parent club.
Tuesday's result may not matter all that much, although the Citizens would love to regain some momentum ahead of the busy holiday season. A solid win over Celtic would do the trick, especially if some of the younger players perform well.
Expected lineups:
Manchester City:
Willy Caballero, John Stones, AleksandarKolarov, Nicolas Otamendi, Pablo Zabaleta, Nolito, Fernando, IlkayGundogan, Leroy Sane, David Silva, Sergio Aguero
Celtic
Craig Gordon, Emilio Izaguirre, Erik Sviatchenko, Jozo Simunovic, Mikael Lustig, Scott Brown, Patrick Roberts, Stuart Armstrong, Tomas Rogic, James Forrest, Moussa Dembele
Manchester City vs Celtic: Head-to-Head Stats
The 3-3 thriller on matchday 2 at Glasgow is the lone competitive meeting between Manchester City and Celtic. Raheem Sterling scored on both end, first an own goal and later the equalizer within 7 minutes. Moussa Dembele scored the other two goals for Celtic, while Nolito and Fernandinho found the back of the net for City.
The only other official meeting between the two sides is a friendly at Manchester on 2009 which was won by City by a 2-1 margin. Manchester City haven’t played against any other Scottish sides in a UEFA competition.
While Celtic have played against English Premier League sides on 19 occasions and they hold a moderate record of 7 wins, 6 draws and 6 losses. They also managed 3 wins and 2 draws from their 9 trips to England, losing 4 times.
Manchester City vs Celtic: Prediction
Manchester City will be keen to bounce back from the 3-1 defeat to Chelsea on the weekend, while also keen to maintain their unbeaten record at home in this season’s Champions League. Pep Gaurdiola’ side has been off-colour lately, but they do have a chance to gain some confidence from this fixture with a win as Celtic are one of the worst away sides in the Champions League. No surprises are expected here as in the first leg at Glasgow, City to win is a straight pick for this fixture.
Manchester City vs Celtic: Bet Tips
Over 1.5 goals in first half at 1/1 (2.00).
Both Teams to Score and Man City to win at 11/8 (2.37).
