Barcelona VS Celtic Match Prediction

Barcelona certainly have the advantage as far as the head-to-head record goes for this fixture, with the teams meeting a few times in the Champions League in recent years. 

The last clash came in the 2013/2014 group stage, when Barca won 1-0 at Celtic Park and routed the Scottish side 6-1 at Camp Nou. The previous year the teams were also drawn together, with Celtic going down to a 2-1 defeat away from home but recording a famous 2-1 victory of their own at Celtic Park. Finally, in the 2007/2008 Champions League, Barcelona won 4-2 on aggregate after winning both legs by a single goal.

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Barcelona v Celtic: Prediction

Barcelona evidently have a much stronger squad than Celtic so it is easy to see why they are favourites for this game, although there is always a chance of an upset in a one-off game. How easily Barca win the match is likely to depend on the strength of the side named by Luis Enrique, with the game having the potentially to be embarrassing for Celtic, whose focus is solely on the Champions League qualification game they have against Astana.

Barcelona v Celtic: Betting Tips

Odds of 4/11 are very short on a Barcelona win here, but they are strongly favoured to take the points relatively comfortably, with outsiders Celtic offered up at a price of 8/1. Those who believe the Scottish champions can force a penalty shootout can back the draw at 9/2 for this game. Over 2.5 goals looks to be a solid selection at odds of 3/5, while over 3.5 goals is a juicy 6/4 here.

Lionel Messi has been included in the Barcelona squad for the International Champions Cup, with the star showing off his new blond haircut to fans at Dublin's Aviva Stadium in this game. Luis Suarez and Arda Turan are among the top class stars likely to be involved here, with Barcelona stepping up their preparations for the new La Liga season in this game.

Barcelona likely XI: 

Masip, Vidal, Mathieu, Montoya, Roberto, Turan, Suarez, Samper, Suarez, Messi, Munir.

Celtic lost their first game in this summer's International Champions Cup, suffering a penalty shootout loss to Premier League champions Leicester City following a 1-1 draw at Celtic Park.

Brendan Rodgers' side will be enjoying their involvement in the ICC, but Champions League qualification is their top priority, with this match coming in between their two-legged tie against Astana in the third qualifying round. An inexperienced Celtic side could therefore be on show for this game, with young centre-back Eoghan O'Connell likely to play after scoring a fine goal in the draw against the Foxes.

Celtic likely XI: 

Gordon, Izaguirre, Ambrose, O'Connell, Tierney, Bitton, Brown, Armstrong, Ciftci, Roberts, Dembele.

Celtic have had a lot of travelling in the build-up to this game, with Rodgers\' men not long back from a long trip to Astana for their Champions League match. Barcelona\'s status as clear favourites is enforced by the likelihood of tired legs in the Celtic squad, with a fairly easy win the the Spanish side expected.

Celtic have only won one of the last six meetings against Barcelona.