Football betting tips: Champions League
2pts Mateo Retegui to score anytime at 6/5 (Betfair, Paddy Power)
0.5pts Mateo Retegui to score 2+ at 6/1 (Betfair, Paddy Power)
0.5pts Mateo Retegui to score 3+ at 35/1 (Betfair, Paddy Power)
BuildABet @ 10/1
- Over 3.5 goals
- Mateo Retegui to score 2+
- Ademola Lookman to score anytime
Goals should be expected when Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic are involved.
In 12 games this season, 10 have seen at least three goals and a third of them have seen five or more.
In the Champions League, the Bhoys put five past Slovan Bratislava then conceded seven at Dortmund. It means that their two European games have featured 14 goals and it is all down to Rodgers' ego.
Celtic’s boss went for identical set-ups in both games, despite the step up in quality of opposition, and it is hard to see him ripping up his playbook ahead of the trip to Bergamo; there is a case to be made that Atalanta are better then Dortmund as well.
The Italians beat Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final and went toe-to-toe with Arsenal in a stalemate on matchday one.
La Dea have won their last three games, scoring 10 goals in the process, so you fear for Celtic, who squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Aberdeen at the weekend.
What are the best bets?
Goals are the obvious way in at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia and I cannot snub the goalscorer market.
Karim Adeyemi took home the match ball for Dortmund when they played Celtic and Serhou Guirassy scored twice.
MATEO RETEGUI leads the race for the Capocannoniere domestically and although he had to settle for a spot on the bench against Shakhtar, the frontman should start alongside Ademola Lookman on Wednesday.
The Italian's price TO SCORE ANYTIME appeals.
The Argentina-born frontman has already eclipsed his domestic tally from last season at Genoa (7) and is clearly thriving in a side that creates chances.
He looks primed to open his Champions League account on Wednesday and the disparity in prices about Retegui TO SCORE 2+ GOALS and a HAT-TRICK is too large to ignore.
The brace is as short as 11/4 with some firms and the hat-trick is 12/1 yet the former can be taken at 6/1 and the hat-trick at 35/1 with Betfair and Paddy Power.
He already has two braces and a hat-trick this season.
Team news
Rafael Toloi, Marco Brescianini and Odilon Kossounou remain sidelined for the hosts but Sead Kolasinac should return to the backline having missed the 2-0 win at Venezia on the weekend.
Gian Piero Gasperini started Charles De Ketelaere, Lookman and Retegui in Sunday’s win but withdrew the trio before the 70th minute with an eye on this match.
Celtic full-back Greg Taylor is ruled out by a hamstring issue and Cameron Carter-Vickers will be assessed but the central defender has not played since matchday one. This should see Auston Trusty partner Liam Scales in central defence.
Predicted line-ups
Atalanta: Carnesecchi; Djimsiti, Hien, Kolasinac; Zappacosta, Ederson, De Roon, Ruggeri; De Ketelaere, Lookman; Retegui
Celtic: Schmeichel; Johnston, Trusty, Scales, Valle; Engels, McGregor, Hatate; Kuhn, Furuhashi, Maeda
Match facts
- This will be Atalanta’s first ever meeting with Celtic and their first European game against a Scottish team.
- Celtic have lost their last seven UEFA Champions League games against Italian teams by an aggregate score of 15-1 since winning 2-1 against Milan in October 2007. Away from home, Celtic have lost every single one of their seven Champions League visits to Italy.
- Atalanta are looking to win successive games in the UEFA Champions League for the first time since March 2020, reaching the quarter-final that season.
- Since beating RSC Anderlecht 3-0 in September 2017, Celtic have lost eight of their last nine away matches in the UEFA Champions League, conceding 36 goals in that period (4 per game).
- Atalanta have kept a clean sheet in each of their last four games in major European competition, the last Italian side to do so in five straight games was Milan in April 2023.
- Since the start of 2022-23, Celtic have conceded more goals than any other side in the UEFA Champions League (38 – 2.7 per game), while no side has a higher xG per shot faced (0.13) than them among teams that have played at least 10 games in that time.
- Celtic have won two of their last three games in the UEFA Champions League (L1), not since November 2007 under Gordon Strachan have they won at least three games in a period of four games or fewer in the competition.
- Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman has been involved in eight goals in his last five starts in major European competition (6 goals, 2 assists), while in the UEFA Champions League this season, only three forwards have won possession in the final third more often than him (4).
- Against Shakhtar Donetsk last time out, Atalanta’s Lazar Samardzic created six chances and completed seven dribbles, becoming the first player to complete as many for both metrics in a UEFA Champions League game since Lionel Messi for Barcelona against Internazionale in October 2019.
- Daizen Maeda has scored in each of Celtic’s first two games in the UEFA Champions League this season, and could become the first player to score in three successive games for them in the competition.
Odds correct at 1015 BST (22/10/24)
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