Scottish Champions Celtic are looking to continue their foray into this season’s Champions League as they take on Italian champions Juventus in the round of sixteen. There should be quite a wave of optimism from the Bhoys after a thrilling group stage from them. Celtic finished second in Group G after a strong campaign, finishing just three points back of tournament favourites Barcelona. It was Celtic’s home form in Glasgow in particular which was impressive, as they took two wins and a draw in their three matches. The big nights for Neil Lennon’s men in the group, were of course, against Barcelona.
Celtic almost hung for a famous point at the Nou Camp before Barca’s Jordi Alba scored a winner for the home side four minutes into injury time. There was cheer for the Scots back in Glasgow though later in the group stage, as they recorded a famous 2-1 victory over the Catalan giants, giving the home support a memorable night. With Celtic heading towards yet another Scottish title on the domestic front, their performances against Barcelona, for which they received a lot of due credit, could put them in good stead to take their run deeper in Europe.
The Scottish Premier League side have held their own against Juventus before, and while they will be underdogs for the round of sixteen clash, their passion and bravery could unsettle The Old Lady. Celtic though, do remain one of the rank outsiders to take the Champions League title at Football Betting Odds of 150/1 at bookmakers.
So how much further can their group stage confidence really take them? This is already Celtic’s best campaign in the UEFA Champions League, having never before made it past the group stage. Indeed, in the 2010/11 season they failed to make it out of the qualifying round and into the group stage of the competition. So it has been big progress for them this season, and a big opportunity could await them further. The exciting forward talent of Gary Hooper and the impressive goalkeeping displays between the sticks from Fraser Forster could be the keys to Celtic success.
The Glasgow giants have encountered Juventus twice before in their European history, the first time coming back in 1981 in the European Champions Clubs’ Cup. Celtic took a home win over Juventus before losing back in Turin. The most recent coming together of the two sides was in the the 2001/02 Champions League group stage, where again there were home wins for each side.
Celtic almost hung for a famous point at the Nou Camp before Barca’s Jordi Alba scored a winner for the home side four minutes into injury time. There was cheer for the Scots back in Glasgow though later in the group stage, as they recorded a famous 2-1 victory over the Catalan giants, giving the home support a memorable night. With Celtic heading towards yet another Scottish title on the domestic front, their performances against Barcelona, for which they received a lot of due credit, could put them in good stead to take their run deeper in Europe.
The Scottish Premier League side have held their own against Juventus before, and while they will be underdogs for the round of sixteen clash, their passion and bravery could unsettle The Old Lady. Celtic though, do remain one of the rank outsiders to take the Champions League title at Football Betting Odds of 150/1 at bookmakers.
So how much further can their group stage confidence really take them? This is already Celtic’s best campaign in the UEFA Champions League, having never before made it past the group stage. Indeed, in the 2010/11 season they failed to make it out of the qualifying round and into the group stage of the competition. So it has been big progress for them this season, and a big opportunity could await them further. The exciting forward talent of Gary Hooper and the impressive goalkeeping displays between the sticks from Fraser Forster could be the keys to Celtic success.
The Glasgow giants have encountered Juventus twice before in their European history, the first time coming back in 1981 in the European Champions Clubs’ Cup. Celtic took a home win over Juventus before losing back in Turin. The most recent coming together of the two sides was in the the 2001/02 Champions League group stage, where again there were home wins for each side.