Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Europa League match.
Crvena Zvezda
Crvena Zvezda felt they should have been in the Champions League main round, but if you lose at home to Pafos (1:2), what can you expect? Pafos signalled in the first leg that they would be difficult to break down, and they held firm for a draw in the second leg against the team (1:1). Since that major setback, Crvena Zvezda have been rampant in the Serbian SuperLiga, winning three matches by an aggregate score of 14:3 and even taking the Eternal Derby against FK Partizan (2:1). In truth, the Serbian league is not much of a barometer.
Celtic
Even so, Celtic are slight favourites away from home. Their squad are valued €50m higher (€137m vs €85m). Their late-August failure caused an even bigger stir. Kairat, who have never reached the Champions League league phase and have seldom even featured in qualifying, did not concede against them across 210 minutes, and in the penalty shoot-out they failed to convert three of five attempts thanks to the opposition goalkeeper. Four days later, Celtic have also failed to score in the Old Firm derby against Rangers (0:0).
Crvena Zvezda vs Celtic Prediction
We are likely to get a match where a single goal or a one-goal margin could decide it, so we’re backing under 3 goals.
