Celtic vs Real Madrid Predictions & Match Preview

Celtic vs Real Madrid predictions and match preview for Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League fixture. Read on for analysis and predicted lineups as Los Blancos begin their title defence in Glasgow.

Celtic vs Real Madrid Preview

Real Madrid’s defence of the Champions League starts this Tuesday evening as they travel to Glasgow to take on Celtic. Both sides have won every game so far in their respective leagues and hope to take their fine form into European competition. 

Celtic come into this match after a dominant display at the weekend in a 4-0 victory over city rivals Rangers. The Hoops went into the interval 3-0 up with an outstanding chipped goal from Jota sandwiched in between a brace from Liel Abada, with both of his goals coming from his smart movements away from the opposition players combined with lapse defending from Rangers. Giovanni Van Bronckhorst’s side were unable to get a true hold on the game and things got worse in the second half when goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin gifted the ball to David Turnbull, who made no mistake slotting home for 4-0.

Ange Postecoglou’s team have won every game they have played so far this season, scoring a combined seventeen goals in their last three matches. Celtic won the Scottish Premiership last season which allowed them to automatically enter the Champions League for the first time since 2017, when they were paired in a group with both Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich. 

Real Madrid enter this fixture after a top of the table clash with Real Betis on Saturday afternoon in LaLiga. The first half was fairly even, with David Alaba finding Vinicius Jr who chipped Betis’ Rui Silva to put Los Blancos ahead in the ninth minute of the match. Only minutes later however, a rather simple throw-in routine from Manuel Pellegrini’s side caught Real out and Sergio Canales took advantage of a rare Thibaut Courtois error to level the score. 

Both sides seemed more wary in the second half and it remained 50/50, but a well worked move down the right hand side finished off by Rodrygo Goes ultimately allowed Real Madrid to claim victory and remain the only team in Europe’s top five leagues to maintain a 100% record, albeit early on in the campaign. 

Carlo Ancelotti’s side qualified for the competition through winning both LaLiga and the Champions League itself last season, with the latter coming as a record breaking fourteenth victory. There is no doubt that the club’s ambitions for this season will be to retain their prestigious crown. 

Possible Lineups (via SofaScore)

Score Prediction: Celtic 1-2 Real Madrid

Celtic fans will be looking forward to hosting a Champions League match for the first time in five years, and have reason to be optimistic after such a strong start to their campaign. However, the European champions may be a step too far for Ange Postecoglou’s side, who may look to press all over the field, but against Real Madrid players who have much experience dealing with such pressing. 

Admittedly, Real Madrid don’t always seem to take the group stages as seriously as other European giants which leaves them vulnerable to a shock result, dropping points to CSKA Moscow, Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk and Sheriff Tiraspol respectively in recent years at this stage. This combined with a raucous atmosphere at Celtic Park could give the Hoops a chance, but Real Madrid may just edge it still.

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