Celtic vs Slovan Bratislava prediction, betting tips and odds: Bhoys set for another defensive masterclass

Where to watch Celtic v Slovan Bratislava

You can watch Celtic vs Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League at 8pm on Wednesday, September 18, live on TNT Sports 2

Match prediction & best bet

Celtic to win & under 3.5 goals
1pt 23-20 Coral, Ladbrokes

Over 6.5 Celtic corners
2pts 5-6 bet365

Recommended Offer

4/5

NEW CUSTOMER OFFER

Get £50 In Free Bets When You Place £10

NEW CUSTOMER OFFER

• Free bets with Betfair's Rewards Club

CLAIM OFFER

Tap for more details. 18+ T&Cs apply

• Build your own bets with Bet Builder
• Best Odds Guaranteed (BOG)

Place a min £10 bet on Sportsbook on odds of min EVS (2.0), get £50 in Free Bet Builders, Accumulators or multiples to use on any sport. Rewards valid for 30 days. Only deposits via cards or Apple Pay will qualify. T&Cs apply. Please Gamble Responsibly.

You can bet on Celtic vs Slovan Bratislava and get £50 in free bets with Betfair

Celtic vs Slovan Bratislava odds

Celtic 3-10
Slovan Bratislava 17-2
Draw 9-2

Odds correct at time of publishing

Celtic vs Slovan Bratislava predictions

Celtic have made a stellar start to their William Hill Scottish Premiership campaign and the positive vibes should continue in the Champions League with an opening victory over Slovan Bratislava.

The Bhoys are a perfect five from five in the Scottish top-flight, having scored 14 goals without reply, and they should put on another strong defensive display at home to their Slovakian opponents.

This is the first time Slovan Bratislava have competed in the main draw of the Champions League and it was an arduous task to get there as they came through four qualifying rounds.

The visitors upset the odds against Cypriot side Apoel and Danish outfit Midtjylland but more is required to upstage Celtic, who defeated Feyenoord and held Atletico Madrid to a draw at home in last season’s group stage.

Slovan Bratislava failed to win in the away leg in their final three qualifiers at Celje, Apoel and Midtjylland and they may lack the cutting edge to trouble a Celtic side who have kept five straight league clean sheets.

There were no more than three goals in five of the visitors’ final seven qualifiers, which included all four away trips, and their best chance of claiming a positive result will be to keep things tight and compact.

Brendan Rodgers’ side should at some point find a breakthrough with Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn, Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda leading the path to glory, although it is unlikely to be a free-scoring classic.

Celtic’s constant pressure can ensure that they also rack up plenty of corners. The Bhoys have hit corner tallies of ten, five, ten, seven and five in their opening five league games, and in Slovan Bratislava’s final three away qualifiers their opponents got to at least seven.

Key stat

Only one of Celtic’s last eight Champions League home games has featured more than three goals.

Celtic vs Slovan Bratislava team news

Celtic
Polish defender Maik Nawrocki remains sidelined through injury and is Celtic’s only reported absentee.

Slovan Bratislava
Central defender Lukas Pauschek and Swiss striker Adler Da Silva are out for the visitors.

Probable teams

Celtic (4-3-3): Schmeichel; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; Engels, McGregor, Hatate; Kuhn, Kyogo, Maeda.
Subs: Forrest, Idah, McCowan, Bernardo, Trusty, Ralston, Palma, Valle.

Slovan Bratislava (4-3-3): Takac; Blackman, Kashia, Bajric, Wimmer; Szoke, Kucka, Tolic; Barseghyan, Strelec, Weiss.
Subs: Ignatenko, Mak, Marcelli, Medvedev, Metsoko, Zuberu, Savvidis, Gajdes.

Inside info

Celtic

Star man Kyogo Furuhashi
Top scorer Callum McGregor
Penalty taker Arne Engels
Card magnet Greg Taylor
Assist ace Daizen Maeda
Set-piece aerial threat Liam Scales

Slovan Bratislava

Star man Tigran Barseghyan
Top scorer Tigran Barseghyan
Penalty taker Tigran Barseghyan
Card magnet Juraj Kucka
Assist ace Marko Tolic
Set-piece aerial threat Kenan Bajric

Celtic vs Slovan Bratislava bet builder predictions

Celtic to win
The Bhoys have won all six of their matches this season and they should put home advantage to good use against inferior opponents.

Over 4.5 Celtic corners
Celtic have had at least five corners in each of their five Premiership games this season and can at least match that total on this occasion.

Reo Hatate over 1.5 shots on target
Japanese ace Reo Hatate has had 17 shots in five Premiership games for Celtic, scoring twice, and is fancied to hit the target at least twice.

Pays out at 16-5 with bet365

Click for free bets and betting offers from the Racing Post

Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing and sports betting.