Celtic are still in with a chance of securing a place in the Europa League knockout phase, although all six of their points have come from matches against Ferencvaros and there’s a nagging feeling that they will fall short against BayArena when the sides clash in Germany.
When the teams met at Celtic Park at the end of September, Leverkusen ran out 4-0 winners and they are likely to be stronger in every department for the return fixture. After all, Bayer clashed with Real Betis three weeks ago and put a decent Spanish side to the sword, so it’s improbable that Celtic will have any answers.
With Real Betis expected to enjoy a maximum haul against a modest Ferencvaros side, this could be a final throw of the dice for Celtic, although the Hoops could be exposed in their attempts to come forward and cause problems of their own.
It’s likely that Celtic will score based on the recent evidence where they claimed a 3-2 win in Hungary before a 4-2 victory in Dundee, although those defensive frailties could be cruelly exposed here.
BETTING VERDICT
Bayer Leverkusen -1