The Glasgow Hoops travel to the high-flying Bundesliga side tonight in a crucial tie in the Europa League’s fifth round
Bayer Leverkusen v Celtic will kick off at 17:45 tonight, Thursday 25th November in the BayArena. The match will be shown live on Virgin Media Two and Virgin TV Go.
Gerardo Seoane’s Leverkusen side comes into this game on top of Group G, three points clear of second place. This young team have been very successful and exciting this season as they sit in fourth place in the Bundesliga as well.
A win tonight could guarantee progression to the Round of 16 but the manager may rest some of their strong players with them playing RB Leipzig in a tough league tie at the weekend.
Ange Postecogclu has improved Celtic’s home form, now bringing them to within four points of Rangers in the Scottish league. Even though this is promising for the Glasgow side, it may be too late for them in Europe.
Celtic are one point behind second-place Real Betis but the Spanish team are playing bottom place Ferencvaros. The Scotsmen will need to claim at least a point or else their European journey could be over.
This is a very uncommon tie in recent European history. They only faced each other once before, which was earlier this season in the first fixture of the Europa League group stage. That tie does not build Celtic fans with hope as they lost 4-0 at home to the German team.
There is a lot more importance on this game so Celtic will try to come out all guns blazing in search of at least a point.
🇯🇵🍀 One word to describe this @CelticFC signing from 2005… #FlashbackFriday | #UEL pic.twitter.com/W9AzGNWikY
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) November 19, 2021
Bayer Leverkusen v Celtic Probable Starting Teams
Bayer Leverkusen
Formation
4-2-3-1
Probable Starting 11
Hradecky (GK), Hincapie, Tapsoba, Tah, Frimpong, Diaby, Palacios, Andrich, Amiri, Alario, Wirtz.
Injuries / Suspensions
Baumgartlinger (Knee), Bakker (Ankle), Fosu-Mensah (Cruciate ligament), Demirbay (Red card)
Celtic
Formation
4-2-3-1
Probable Starting 11
Hart (GK), Juranovic, Carter-Vicker, Ralston, McGregor, Bitton, Jota, Turnbull, Abada, Furuhashi.
Injuries / Suspensions
Starfelt (Hamstring), Jullien (Knee), Taylor (Shoulder), Dembele (Ankle), Rogic (Hamstring)
😎 𝗝𝗢𝗧𝗔 🎤
✅ Saturday: Man of the Match
✅ Monday: Player of the Month
🎬 Tuesday: Star of the Show?𝑇𝑜𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑤…#CelticChristmasAd 💌🌏🌟 pic.twitter.com/7yDMgZnvMY
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) November 22, 2021
Bayer Leverkusen v Celtic Match Betting
Bayer Leverkusen to win: 4/11
Draw: 4/1
Celtic to win: 13/2
Score Prediction
Leverkusen are the clear favorites to win this tie and secure their place in the knockout round and it would be hard to bet against them. Celtic have shown better form and have something to fight for but the Germans might be one step too far for them.
Expect this game to end 3-1 to Leverkusen, spelling the end of Celtic’s European journey this year.
Amine Adli vs Celtic ⚽️
What will happen this time? 🤔#UEL pic.twitter.com/GWQtHH5ufG
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) November 23, 2021
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