Celtic - CFR Cluj Prediction, Picks and Tips
Coming Tuesday evening, the illustrious Celtic Park will be full again, as Celtic takes on the Romanian CFR Cluj in the third preliminaries of the Champions League. The Scottish champion can use the support of her fans, because after the 1-1 draw last week, this diptych is still completely open.
The Scottish Premier League, certainly after the dismantling of arch-rival Rangers, has been too small for Celtic for years. The real challenge for The Hoops is of course in Europe, where they hope to qualify for the Champions League again this season. But then the Scottish top club will first have to deal with the Romanian CFR Cluj. With last week's 1-1 draw on Romanian soil, Celtic has the best papers thanks to its goal, although this diptych has certainly not been decided yet. Especially in a defensive sense, there is still plenty of room for improvement at Celtic. CFR Cluj initially took the lead last week, and last weekend visiting Motherwell Celtic also had two goals. "Our rearguard is indeed still a work in progress," trainer Neil Lennon admitted. 'We have several new players, including two new backs. They need some time to get used to it. " In an attacking sense, however, Celtic is running smoothly, with players such as Leigh Griffiths, Odsonne Edouard, Ryan Christie, and James Forrest having an enormous amount of scoring ability. In just two competition duels, Celtic has already scored twelve (!) Times. "Every time we cross the center line we are dangerous," said Griffiths.
CFR Cluj is of course the obvious underdog, but thanks to last week's 1-1 draw, the Romanians can still hope for a stunt. With a little luck, CFR Cluj could even have won. Celtic goalkeeper Scott Bain had a busy evening, but only the Venezuelan striker Mario Rondon managed to beat him. CFR Cluj usually plays the same way both at home and away, so the chance that they will park the bus at Celtic Park seems small. Also in European away games, the Romanians regularly make themselves heard, because they scored in four of their last five European duels. Trainer Dan Petrescu never leaves one moment unused to push his team further into the underdog role. Last week he already compared Celtic with Ajax because of her position play, but in the run-up to the return he even compared the upcoming opponent with FC Barcelona: 'They play so dominantly. Hopefully the referee will not allow themselves to be influenced by them. It is normal for Celtic in a European home game to often have the referee on hand when in doubt. Hopefully that won't happen on Tuesday evening. " Petrescu is therefore not averse to a strong example of psychological warfare.
Our recommendation tip for Celtic - CFR Cluj : Celtic to win @ 1,55