Red Star Belgrade v Celtic
Red Star Belgrade

Red Star Belgrade vs Celtic

, KO: 20:00 , Marakana Stadium
Celtic

Celtic will be looking for an extended run in the Europa League this season but they have some tricky fixtures, starting with this trip to Serbia to take on Red Star Belgrade.

The Hoops were left reeling after missing out on a seat at Europe's top table by losing on penalties to Kairat in the Champions League play-offs.

An underwhelming end to the summer transfer window then had fans up in arms but Brendan Rodgers' men have made a decent start to the domestic season.

Sunday's 4-0 League Cup win at Partick Thistle, which brought up a bet for me, showed that new signings Sebastian Tounekti and Kelechi Iheanacho could become key players.

Facing Red Star in the hostile Marakana Stadium is a big step up in class though and this is a tough assignment for their Europa League opener.

Red Star also suffered Champions League heartache as they lost out to Cypriot side Pafos in the qualifiers.

But they've won seven out of seven in the Serbian league and head into this match on a high after beating Partizan 2-1 in the derby.

How the bookies view it: Hoops just have the edge

Celtic don't have a good away record in Europe but BoyleSports make them slight favourites here at 6/4. Red Star Belgrade are priced at 9/5 and the draw pays 23/10.

Head to head: Long time no see

You have to go all the way back to 1968 for the only time these sides have faced off before. That came in the European Cup and a 1-1 draw in Belgrade sealed a 6-2 aggregate win for Celtic.

Players to watch: Katai in the groove

Aleksandar Katai has been in brilliant form for Red Star Belgrade this season, netting 12 times in 13 appearances. With those kind of numbers, he looks overpriced for a goal here at 5/2 with BoyleSports.

Benjamin Nygren has made a good start to his Celtic career and the Swede chipped in with two assists on Sunday at Firhill. The midfielder has also scored three times this season and he's 11/4 for another goal.

Probable line-ups

Red Star Belgrade should be along similar lines to the weekend derby, although Nair Tiknizyan's place may be under threat after he was subbed at half-time.

I was surprised Rodgers didn't rest more of his star men at Firhill and his biggest dilemma is whether to hand Iheanacho another start up front or play Daizen Maeda through the middle.

Red Star Belgrade: Matheus, Veljkovic, Stankovic, Lekovic, Young-Woo, Ivanic, Handell, Elsnik, Kostov, Katai, Arnautovic.

Celtic: Schmeichel, Donovan, Scales, Carter-Vickers, Tierney, McGregor, Hatate, Nygren, Tounetki, Yang, Maeda.

Anything else catch the eye?

Celtic's away games in Europe haven't offered much entertainment of late, with three 0-0 draws in their last five road trips.

But Red Star Belgrade's matches have been pretty open this season and BTTS has landed in their last seven. Pafos also won 2-1 in Belgrade so there could be some value in combining BTTS with over 2.5 goals at evens with BoyleSports.

Youngster Colby Donovan looks set to start at right-back again with Alistair Johnston and Tony Ralston out injured. This is the teenager's first major test so he could be good value for a card, although I've yet to see any prices for him.

The half-time draw has come up in Celtic's last five away games in Europe so that could be another good option here at 23/20.

Red Star Belgrade vs Celtic Betting Tips & Predictions
Aleksandar Katai anytime scorer
5/2
Boylesports
BTTS and over 2.5 goals
Evens
Boylesports
Half-time draw
23/20
Boylesports
Further Reading
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