Feyenoord vs Celtic predictions: More European woes on the cards for Bhoys

Tom McGarry
Spotlight
Arne Slot will be leading Feyenoord into their first Champions League campaign for six years
Arne Slot will be leading Feyenoord into their first Champions League campaign for six years

- Feyenoord are on a three-game winning streak, scoring 17 goals in the process 
- Celtic scored in all three of their Champions League away games last season 
- Recommended bet: Feyenoord to win and BTTS

Feyenoord vs Celtic is a fixture that will bring back plenty of memories for supporters of a certain vintage, with the two teams now set to meet in their Champions League Group E opener at De Kuip on Tuesday.

This will be the first competitive meeting between the two sides since the 1970 European Cup final when Feyenoord claimed a 2-1 victory after extra time, as they were crowned champions of Europe for the first, and so far only time in their history.

Arne Slot's current vintage are now set to embark on their first Champions League campaign for six years and they will be facing a Celtic side that will be hoping to produce an improved showing in Europe this term after propping up their group with just two points last season.

Team news

Feyenoord will have to make do without six-goal leading scorer Santiago Gimenez for this game, as he serves a two-match European ban following his sending off against Roma in last season's Europa League.

Fellow forward Ayase Ueda is also a doubt after returning from international duty with Japan injured, but Slot still has plenty of attacking options at his disposal, including Newcastle loanee Yankuba Minteh.

Celtic were boosted by the return of Reo Hatate as a substitute for Saturday's victory over Dundee and he could now be available from the start in Rotterdam.

Cameron Carter-Vickers and Marco Tilio are back in training after their recent layoffs, but this game is likely to come too soon for both, while winger Liel Abada is facing up to four months on the sidelines with a thigh issue.

The stats

After opening the new season with back-to-back draws, Feyenoord have won their last three Eredivisie games, scoring 17 goals in the process but failing to keep a clean sheet on each occasion.

This will be the Rotterdam club's first Champions League campaign since 2017-18 when they finished bottom of their group, collecting just three points from their six games.

Celtic finished bottom of their group last season, but they did score in all three of their away games in the competition against Shakhtar Donetsk, RB Leipzig and, most notably, Real Madrid.

The Bhoys have not made it beyond the group stage of Europe's premier club tournament since 2012-13 and they have won just one of their last 21 matches in the competition, losing 15 of those games.

Brendan Rodgers will be hoping Celtic can improve on their poor recent Champions League record
Brendan Rodgers will be hoping Celtic can improve on their poor recent Champions League record

Prediction

With Atletico Madrid and Lazio also in this group, both Feyenoord and Celtic will be keen to make a winning start and momentum appears to be with the Dutch champions following their recent three-match winning run.

The absence of star striker Gimenez will be a blow for Feyenoord, but they had six different scorers during Saturday's 6-1 victory over Heerenveen in the Eredivisie, which shows they are capable of sharing the goals around.

Celtic also know where the back of the net is, as they have netted three or more in half of their six matches to date this term, and they will fancy their chances of getting on the scoresheet against Feyenoord's less than watertight defence.

That could be as good as it gets for Brendan Rodgers' side, however, with a home win appearing the most likely outcome.

Win up to £250,000 with LiveScore 6!

Win up to £250,000 with our free-to-play game, LiveScore 6!

Tags

Champions LeagueFeyenoordCeltic