Celtic v Slovan Bratislava: Corners and cards appeal with home side too short | OneFootball

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has a poor Champions League record

Celtic begin their Champions League campaign against Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday night. Betfair writer Mark O'Haire is backing corners and cards at Parkhead.

Celtic v Slovan BratislavaWednesday September 18, 20:00Live on TNT Sports

Celtic "ready" to make their mark

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers feels his side are "ready to attack" the Champions League after continuing their perfect start to the season with a 2-0 triumph over Hearts on Saturday. The Scottish champions have now returned a perfect six wins from six domestic matches, plundering 17 goals and delivering five clean sheets along the way.

The Bhoys appear in a more settled and fluid state than they were this time 12 months ago and Rodgers wants to see his team build on that in Europe. Speaking on Saturday, he said, "I'm really excited by the challenge. I think we've a good balance in the squad. The mindset is strong. We're ready to attack the competition. We will go and we'll give it everything."

Celtic have struggled in the competition in recent years, failing to progress from the groups in five straight appearances, while Rodgers has won just three of his 24 games in the tournament. However, the Hoops' fixtures are rated as the easiest across all 36 teams with Opta giving the group a 57% chance of finishing in the top 24 and securing qualification.

Slovan Bratislava make their UCL bow

Slovan Bratislava will be making their Champions League debut at Parkhead on Wednesday, but the Slovakian champions are unsure whether boss Vladimir Weiss will be in the dugout or not. The visiting coach faces a race against time to recover from a virus having missed successive matches, leaving assistant manager Boris Kitka in-charge of first-team affairs.

The capital club warmed up for their trip to Scotland with a last-gasp 2-1 success at Dunajska Streda thanks to a late penalty from Armenian international winger Tigran Barseghyan to keep them top of the domestic table (W5-D0-L1) and the group are eager to make a splash with Slovan the first Slovakian side to qualify for the UCL since 2010/11.

It was an arduous path for Slovan to get here. The Bratislava boys progressed through four qualifying rounds, culminating in historic aggregate victories over APOEL and Midtjylland with Weiss' charges considerable underdogs across both ties. However, a shock 5-0 thrashing at second-placed Zilina a fortnight ago has raised concerns in camp.

Celtic too short to support

Celtic and Slovan Bratislava do have previous in continental competition with the pair crossing swords in the European Cup Winners Cup quarter-finals back in 1964 - the Bhoys bagged home-and-away 1-0 victories in Slovan's first-ever venture into Europe. The Hoops have won all three previous home matches against Slovakian opposition without conceding.

Celtic are red-hot 1.37 favourites here, yet the Bhoys have tended to toil in this competition in recent years, posting only W1-D3-L9 in their last 12 Champions League group games and securing only three triumphs in 32 across all venues (W3-D6-L23). Despite the Hoops' eye-catching domestic start, Brendan Rodgers' outfit look too short to support here.

Slovan Bratislava 10.50 have returned W10-D3-L1 across all competitions this season, and whilst the Slovakians domestic level is a notch below that of Scotland, the visitors have to be respected for their path and progress to this stage. The Sky Blues finished 15 points clear at the top of the Slovak tree last term and were unbeaten in four away qualifiers (W1-D3-L0).

Corners and cards king

Celtic have been a fun side to follow for corners backers and Brendan Rodgers' troops have once again dominated the corners data this season, winning 10-5-10-7-5 in their first five Premiership matches. Backing Celtic Over 4.5 Corners alongside Over 3.5 Cards gives us an appealing [5/6] shot on the Bet Builder, a play I'm more than happy to recommend here.

Both Celtic and Slovan Bratislava will be targeting top honours here and the importance of this MD1 match-up should ensure a competitive and feisty fixture. Experienced Dutch referee Danny Makkelie is overseeing the encounter and he's covered our proposed line in six of his last seven UEFA club assignments, as well as 13 of 19 going further back.

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