Bayern will host Celtic in the reverse fixture of their champions League encounter on Tuesday Night.
BET BUILDER FOR THE GAME:
Kuhn over 0.5 shots , Musiala over 1.5 shots , Olise over 0.5 shots , BTTS 1st half no @ 2.00
Bayern Munich are in a strong position going into the second leg of this Champions League Knockout Play-off tie. They lead Celtic 2-1 from the away leg and will be confident of progressing to the last 16. Can the Celts make a comeback? Read our match prediction.
The winner of this tie will face either Bayer Leverkusen or Atletico Madrid in the last 16. We could be in store for an all-Bundesliga clash therefore with Bayern our fancy to make it past Celtic. They led the first leg 2-0 but a late goal by Celtic has given the Scottish champions some hope of qualification. The Bavarians are strong at home though as you’ll read in the form section of this preview.
Celtic will want to forget the 7-1 loss they suffered at Borussia Dortmund in the league phase of this competition. They have done well to bounce back from that but their away form in Europe often lets them down. Winning away at Bayern is going to be a tough task for the Hoops.
The hosts are the favourites in this game at Allianz Arena. They already have a minor lead, but seeing Celtic being almost at par in the last game, they should not afford to take things lightly. The Bundesliga 2024-25 leaders are here after finishing 12th in the league phase. They have a strong squad, but it was a tough competition in the first leg.
Celtic FC played way better than expectations in the first leg. In the game, they had only one shot less than Bayern Munich. They also were holding the ball with 43% possession. If they manage to keep their nerves calm, they might actually have a chance here, after all, they are the current leaders of the Scottish Premiership and they finished at the 21st spot of the UCL league table, with just three points less than Bayern.
Arguably Bayern’s biggest game of the season took place in the Bundesliga at the weekend where they travelled to title rivals Bayer Leverkusen. In what was a very regressive Bayern performance, the Bavarians proved stubborn enough to keep Leverkusen at bay for 90 minutes, securing a 0-0 draw and maintaining their eight-point lead in the title race, putting them in an unassailable position.
The jury is still out somewhat on Bayern this season in terms of their ceiling as a team, so it will be interesting to see how they fare in the latter stages of this competition. They’ve shown signs to suggest they’re capable of winning the whole thing, but they’ve in equal parts shown frailties that simply will not fly at this level. Expect them to deliver a dominant performance here against a Celtic side that has plenty of heart but limited quality.
It’s fair to say that Celtic have given a good account of themselves in this competition this season. Many would have fancied the Bhoys to exit the competition at the group stage, but they delivered their fans some very commendable performances to seal a playoff spot, with a win over RB Leipzig and a draw at Atalanta the pick of the bunch.
Celtic are very likely going to exit the Champions League this week, and they might consider themselves very unlucky to have drawn Bayern Munich in the playoff round, but regardless, they’ve shown a very strong platform from which they can build next season.
There were a number of upsets in this year’s Champions League group phase that saw numerous big hitters finish outside of the top eight, but with better preparation, that may not be the case next season, and clubs like Celtic might have much more evenly matched playoff ties. A good summer in the transfer market could easily see a Champions League playoff exit turned into a last 16 berth next season, so there are plenty of reasons for Celtic fans to be very positive about their team’s achievements this season.
