Feyenoord vs Celtic tips: Back Arne Slot’s side to show Europe their class

Date, KO time and TV coverage

Champions League, Tuesday, September 19, Kick-off 8pm, live on TNT Sports 1

Predicted score

Feyenoord 3-1 Celtic

Suggested bets

Both teams to score in 2nd half
Feyenoord win and over 2.5 goals
Both teams to score

 

Feyenoord vs Celtic team news

The big news ahead of this match is that Feyenoord’s top scorer, Santiago Gimenez, is suspended.

The Mexican forward has scored six goals in five matches this term.
Igor Paixao is likely to deputise with Luka Ivanusec, Yankua Minteh and the influential Calvin Stengs behind him in an attack-minded 4-2-3-1 formation.

Quinten Timber, brother of Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber, will start in midfield while Lutsharel Geertruida is expected to see lots of the ball in his advanced right-back role.

Cameron Carter-Vickers and Marc Tilio will miss out due to injury for Celtic. Matt O’Riley will hope to pull the strings behind Liel Abada, Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda.

Reo Hatate is available again but Callum McGregor and David Turnbull are most likely to partner O’Riley in the midfield three.

 

 

Feyenoord vs Celtic verdict

After back-to-back setbacks against Fortuna Sittard and Sparta Rotterdam, Feyenoord have found their feet in the Eredivisie.

Arne Slot’s men have strung together three consecutive victories in convincing fashion, beating Almere City 6-1, Utrecht 5-1 and Herenveen 6-1.

Celtic haven’t been quite as convincing despite topping the Scottish Premier League with 13 points through five matches.

The Hoops were beaten 1-0 by Kilmarnock in the League Cup and followed that up with another blank in a 0-0 draw against Dundee.

Last season’s Champions League group stage saw them thoroughly outclassed by Real Madrid and RB Leipzig, with their only points coming from 1-1 draws with Shakhtar Donetsk.

Feyenoord haven’t featured in the Champions League since 2017 and looked massively out of their depth, but this current crop and Slot’s style should make them dangerous in 2023.

Rangers thrashing at the hands of PSV is probably an accurate enough representation of the growing gap in quality between the Dutch and Scottish leagues.

Although Celtic may be better than the majority of teams to visit De Kuip, they’ve struggled away in Europe and Feyenoord have shown their ability to control games at this level.

Last year’s Europa League saw them beat Shakhtar Donetsk 7-1, Sturm Graz 6-0, Lazio 1-0 and Roma 1-0 at home, limiting those opponents to a combined two big chances.

Celtic will get their chances and it generally does take the hosts some time to craft a way through, but Slot’s men are well-drilled on the smaller details and always likely to triumph when it comes down to fine margins.

Suggested bets

Both teams to score in 2nd half
Feyenoord win and over 2.5 goals
Both teams to score