After easing to a 2-0 victory away in Belfast, Celtic will be looking to complete the job when they welcome Linfield to Parkhead for Wednesday’s Champions League qualifier.
Goals from Scott Sinclair and Tom Rogic capped a dominant display by the Bhoys, who are huge 1/25 (1.04) favourites with Paddy Power to enhance their aggregate lead with another victory here.
David Healy’s men have never won a Champions League fixture away from home, and are hefty 55/1 (56.00) outsiders to put an end to that record with a famous victory in Glasgow.
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However, two of the guests’ last three away games in this competition have resulted in draws, and you can get odds of 14/1 (15.00) on them giving themselves something to cheer about by earning a share of the spoils in this one.
While veteran Northern Ireland international Roy Carroll was forced into a number of smart stops in the home goal, there was a sense that the Brendan Rodgers’ team rather took their foot off the gas after going 2-0 up with 22 minutes.
Nevertheless, credit must also go to the Blues’ backline, who put in a committed defensive display to help ensure the scoreline remained respectable.
This has actually been a feature of the minnows’ performances in Europe, having conceded just 11 goals in their last 12 Champions League runouts and only ever let in more than two twice in 23 qualifiers.
With the hosts already virtually assured of their place in the next round, it would be a surprise if they were to summon the same degree of motivation for this encounter as their semi-professional opponents.
On that basis, odds of 6/4 (2.50) seem rather generous on a fired-up Linfield team restricting a Celtic side already in cruise control to under 3.5 goals once again here.
