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Astana vs Celtic: TV channel, stream, kick-off time, odds & Champions League play-off preview

Celtic bring a formidable lead into the second leg of their Champions League play-off against Astana and they will be keen to see out the tie in Kazakhstan on Tuesday.

Brendan Rodgers' side put five goals past the Kazakh champions at Celtic Park last week, putting one foot comfortably in the group stage, but the Irish coach will demand that his players do not lose focus on their goal in the second leg.

The Bhoys could only manage a draw when they played at the Astana Arena last season, but they have demonstrated a marked improvement since then and will have confidence that they can secure a victory.

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Game Astana vs Celtic
Date Tuesday, August 22
Time 16:30 BST / 11:30 ET

TV CHANNEL & LIVE STREAM


Scott Sinclair Celtic

In the UK, the match will be available to watch live on television on BT Sport 2 and by via online stream using the BT Sport app.

UK TV channelOnline stream
BT Sport 2BT Sport App

In the US, the match will be available to watch live on television on Fox Sports 2, as well as being available to stream online using Fox Sports GO.

US TV channelOnline stream
Fox Sports 2Fox Sports GO

SQUAD & TEAM NEWS


PositionCeltic players
Goalkeepers Gordon, de Vries
Defenders Simunovic, Bitton, Tierney, Lustig, Ajer, Ralston, Miller, Boyata, Sviatchenko, Gamboa
Midfielders Brown, Sinclair, Armstrong, Hayes, Ntcham, Benyu, McGregor, Forrest, Henderson, Kouassie
Forwards Rogic, Griffiths, Dembele, Nesbitt, Miller, Aitchison, Cifti

Rodgers made six changes for his side's league clash against Kilmarnock at the weekend, with Scott Sinclair, Jozo Simunovic and Leigh Griffiths among those to be rested.

Most, if not all, of those players who sat out the league game on Saturday are likey to return, but, one player who will not feature is Moussa Dembele, who remains sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Other long-term absentees include defensive duo Dedryk Boyata and Erik Sviatchenko, while Christian Gamboa and Eboue Kousassi are also unavailable. Tom Rogic sustained a head injury in the first leg, but he was able to feature against Kilmarnock and should be in contention for a starting place.

Potential Celtic starting XI: Gordon; Lustig, Simunovic, Bitton, Tierney; Brown, Ntcham, Sinclair, Forrest, Rogic; Griffiths.

PositionAstana players
Goalkeepers Eric, Mokin
Defenders Shitov, Anicic, Beisebekov, Logvinenko, Postnikov, Shomko, Maliy, Shaikov
Midfielders Kleinheisler, Muzhikov, Grahovac, Tomasov, Tagybergen, Mayewski, Sagnayev, Zhakipbayev
Forwards Despotovic, Twumasi, Kabananga, Murtazayev, Prokopenko, Pron

Unlike Celtic, Astana have had a full week to recover from the first leg and manager Stanimir Stoilov has had plenty of time to figure out what went wrong in the first leg.

The Bulgarian coach may opt to make some changes to the team that lost so convincingly last week and he will certainly have to implement an attacking line-up if his side are to have any chance of progressing.

Potential Astana starting XI: Mokin; Logvinenko, Shitov, Shomko, Postnikov; Tomasov, Mayewski, Kleinheisler, Muzhikov; Kabananga, Twumasi.


BETTING & MATCH ODDS


Kieran Tierney CelticGetty

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Celtic are 8/5 favourites to win, according to dabblebet, with Astana priced at 17/10 to beat Rodgers' side. A draw between the teams in Kazakhstan is considered a 23/10 bet.

Griffiths is favourite to score first at odds of 4/1 and Sinclair, who scored twice in the first leg, is close behind at 5/1.


GAME PREVIEW


Brendan Rodgers Celtic

Celtic are agonisingly close to sealing their place in the group stage of the 2017-18 Champions League and they have notably navigated their way through the qualifying stage with greater ease than they did last season.

That improvement in fortunes on the continental stage is down to the players buying into Rodgers' philosophy, but, despite possessing a five-goal advantage over Astana in the play-off, the former Liverpool boss is fully aware that the job is not yet complete.

"It's a tough game for us no matter what the lead is," Rodgers told BBC Sport. "What we've shown as we've developed is that the way we play is aggressive. We're going to have to defend well, but we know we have the game to attack and be aggressive, so we know we can score. The job is to complete it, it's over two legs, then sit back and enjoy the draw."

Key to Celtic's improvement has been the form of Sinclair, who scored twice in the first leg. The former Chelsea and Manchester City winger has been involved in five of his side's 12 goals in this qualifying campaign, which is more than any of his team-mates, and he will be crucial to the Hoops chances in the group stage, should they progress as expected.

However, before they can ponder potential opponents in Europe's premier club competition, they must do a professional job in Kazakhstan and close out the tie.

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