Odds: Astana 17/10, Draw 12/5, Celtic 29/20
Kick Off: 1630, 22/08/2017
Stadium: Astana Arena
TV: BT Sport
Celtic all-but guaranteed themselves a place in the Champions League group stage after thrashing Astana 5-0 in Glasgow and can finish the job off in style in Kazakhstan.
Brendan Rodgers can afford to rest a few players if he wishes but we reckon the Hoops have the strength in depth to prevail again in the second leg of this play-off.
Looking at the Astana vs Celtic odds, 29/20 for the Bhoys to do the double in this tie is too good to turn down.
A Look At Astana’s Betting Odds
Astana gave Celtic a real fight in the third qualifying round 12 months ago, drawing 1-1 at home and then only going out after a last-gasp penalty when beaten 2-1 at Parkhead.
However, they were outclassed in Scotland this time after initially setting up to try and keep things tight.
To be fair, two own goals highlights how Celtic enjoyed the rub of the green at key points of the first leg but Astana only had 35 per cent of the possession and ultimately paid the price for sitting back.
The Kazakhstan champions have a strong record at home, so should be more competitive here, but we’re taking 7/2 for an away win and both teams to score in our Astana vs Celtic betting predictions.
A Look At Celtic’s Betting Odds
Brendan Rodgers felt the Glasgow rout provided further evidence of how much his Celtic team has progressed in terms of confidence and self-belief over the past year.
He said: “You see a clear difference, you see a maturity in the performance, an excitement and a creation of chances.
“Tactically, the players are thinking about football, not just going out and running about and hoping.
“They think about when we go in, when we are creative and also how we negate the strengths of the other team – and that allows us to play the game to a better level with and without the ball.”
Even if Rodgers makes changes for the second leg, his fringe players recently put five past Kilmarnock in the League Cup and there is plenty of creative talent in that group.
Success breeds success and we feel the Hoops can hit their hosts on the break to claim a 2-1 triumph at 17/2 for our Astana vs Celtic betting tips.
Additional stats
First-leg result:
CELTIC 5-0 ASTANA – Evgeni Postnikov (og), Scott Sinclair (2), James Forrest, Igor Shitov (og)
Previous head-to-head: Celtic 2-1 Astana, Astana 1-1 Celtic
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