IT’S a huge night for Celtic as they entertain Serie A side Inter in the Europa League. Chris Graham (@chrisgraham79) discusses how they’ll fare.
Celtic v Inter | Thursday 20:05 | BT Sport 1
For me, Celtic are in better nick now than they have been all season. The methods of new manager Ronny Delia are starting to take shape and they’re very much in the habit of winning again.
Since the defeat to Dundee Utd the Sunday before Christmas and the 0-0 draw with Ross County six days later, Celtic have won eight games out of eight. Crucially, in that period they’ve conceded just one goal and that came in the eighth game in the series against St Johnstone on Saturday.
Inter are an entirely different proposition to their Scottish Premiership opponents though. In my opinion Celtic have been poor in this year’s European competition despite still being active in February.
Legia Warsaw humiliated them, Maribor were too strong for them and in the Europa League Astra Giurgiu and Dinamo Zagreb were beaten at Celtic Park, but only one side qualified for the knockout stages with a lower points tally than the Glasgow club. Those performances must improve here.
It’s hardly rosy in the garden of Inter though. Roberto Mancini returned to the club as manager in November but it’s not gone swimmingly and they sit in 10th place in Serie A, 22 points behind Juventus. They’ll be encouraged by back-to-back league wins for the first time since the ex-Man City boss took over though as Palmermo and Atalanta were both well beaten in the last couple of weeks.
I really want to side with Celtic here as they’re as big as 21/10 with BetVictor, but it’s hard to have a firm view as their good form has been been stuck in the cocoon of the Scottish top-flight for the last two months. It’s a bit like taking stabilisers off your kids bike, how will they fare in the big league?
I reckon Celtic will be on a mission to keep it as tight as possible in this match and with their defence being so impressive over the last two months, that could be achieved.
I’ll get involved with the same market that got me a push on Tuesday night as PSG and Chelsea drew 1-1, Under 2 Goals on the Asian Handicap Total Goals Line. That’s 10/7 with 888 Sport and my stake is returned if there are two goals in the game, anything less and I get paid out.
I’m also going to throw a fiver at the No Goalscorer market at a huge 9/1 with Sportingbet. Inter scored just six goals in their group, with just two scored away from home. And don’t forget that amazing Celtic defensive record. Make sure you back No Goalscorer as opposed to 0-0 because own goals don’t count in the No Goalscorer selection. Any questions, just ask in the comments section below.
Best Bets
Celtic v Inter – Under 2 Goals Asian Handicap Total Goals (10/7 888 Sport)
Celtic v Inter – No Goalscorer (9/1 Sportingbet)
Your View
One of our Twitter followers has said he’s putting every penny in his bank on Inter to win. Yes, of course, he’s a Rangers fan, but do you agree with him? Will Inter be far too good for the Scottish side?
Let us know in the comments box below.
TOPICS European Football Football Scottish Football Betting Tips
