The major soccer leagues of Europe are a few weeks away from beginning, but that doesn’t mean great European soccer isn’t available to wager on. Friday will see Scottish powerhouse Celtic take on Northern Ireland’s Linfield in a Champions League second qualifying round fixture.
The match is already set to showcase an explosive atmosphere in the stands with a Northern Irish team taking on a team from Scotland that is highly revered in the predominantly Catholic Republic of Ireland. While it may be highly charged, it is definitely worth a punt, as Celtic head into this match as heavy favorites at 1/10.
By all means, Celtic should handle Linfield in this first match, but let’s look at some of Zcode System’s tools that will help you land some cash on what should be a sure thing.
Celtic are a major team in Europe, but the team is effectively still in preseason. As Zcode System’s scores predictor suggests, I believe this could be a 4-0 win for the Scottish team. At the moment there is a 66.9% chance of this score coming off, and Celtic are good value for it.
Linfield is also in preseason, but the team just do not have the same weapons that Celtic does. A Celtic win, which is 44.18% likely is a strong possibility. Personally, I can’t see any other result.
Looking at the Zcode System volatility oscillator, Celtic does have a -4 stability ranking in the Champions League.
This is completely understandable, but remember, Celtic is not in the Champions League proper yet. Much of the team’s instability comes from the group stages of the tournament, not necessarily from the qualifying round. Celtic was in the group stage last season where they played in a group of death against Manchester City, Barcelona and Borussia Monchengladbach.
Linfield hasn’t made the first round of a European club competition since the early 1990s, so beating Celtic would be monumental; and is why the team is 14/1 to win. Some sports bookies have even installed Linfield as 20/1 underdogs.
Celtic’s two main goal scorers, Moussa Dembele and Scott Sinclair, should be available for the fixture. The pair combined for 57 goals last season in all competitions. That number was more that half of the total number of goals Linfield tallied.
Celtic rank fourth in the Zcode System power rankings, and if you haven’t noticed all signs point to a Celtic win. It just depends on how much you want to wager on the side.
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