The vast majority of neutrals aren’t giving Celtic much hope for their visit to the Etihad Stadium this evening.
With Manchester City already through due to their head-to-head record over Borussia Monchengladbach and Celtic already eliminated from the Champions League, it seems unlikely Pep Guardiola will field his strongest starting XI against the Scottish title holders.
Nonetheless, the Citizens will be desperate to return to winning ways after losing to title rivals Chelsea on Saturday and from their three prior meetings, Celtic have not actually beaten the Manchester outfit – losing one and drawing two.
At the same time, the gulf in quality is impossible to overlook and Celtic are yet to claim a win on the road in Europe this season – infamously even losing to Lincoln Red Imps back during July’s qualifying rounds.
But not every statistic points to an inevitable Celtic defeat – in fact, some suggest the exact opposite. FootballFanCast take a look at three that should give Bhoys fans hope, and cause some concern amongst the City faithful.
Rodgers’ record vs. City
Some managers just always seem to have the beating of certain teams and that appears to be the case with Celtic’s Brendan Rodgers. Indeed, despite his clubs never coming close to rivalling the two-time Premier League champions in terms of finance, quality or depth of squad, the Northern Irishman’s record against them is incredibly well-rounded – winning three, drawing three and losing three.
To say the 3-3 draw at Celtic Park in September was down to tactical decision-making might be a little flattering; in truth, it was a gung-ho 90 minutes where both teams simply went for it. But nonetheless, Rodgers appears well aware of City’s weaknesses and how to exploit them.
His first win against the Citizens came all the way back in 2011/12 when he was in charge of newly promoted Swansea City, and Rodgers added two more victories during his Anfield tenure.
If there’s one concern, however, it’s that Rodgers has never actually won at the Etihad – drawing once and losing three. But there’s a first for everything and tonight could be just that.
Image courtesy of Transfermarkt.
City can’t keep clean sheets
Clean sheets – 5
Goals conceded per game – 1.13
UCL Clean Sheets – 1
Goals conceded per UCL game – 1.8
Pep Guardiola has always been more focused on his sides having an impact at the glamorous end of the pitch but City’s defensive record this season must be of some concern to the Spaniard. From 23 games across all competitions, the Citizens have kept just five clean sheets, coming against relatively modest opposition in Steaua Bucuresti (twice), Bournemouth, West Brom and Borussia Monchengladbach – their only shutout in the Champions League.
Equally, they’ve conceded 1.13 goals per game on average; but that jumps up to a whopping 1.8 in the Champions League proper, in no small part due to Barcelona’s 4-0 win at the Nou Camp and Celtic netting thrice during the reverse fixture in September.
That suggests Celtic will get on the scoresheet tonight – especially with Moussa Dembele boasting 17 goals already this season – and provided City aren’t already running away with it at that point, Brendan Rodgers’ boys will have something to hold onto.
City’s home record
When facing a Pep Guardiola side at home, the immediate assumption is that they’ll wipe the floor with you. The Spaniard lost just twice at the Allianz Arena during his time as Bayern Munich gaffer and it was a similar case during his trophy-laden Barcelona tenure. Of course, the style of play is a big factor in that, with his sides always looking to dominate possession and continuously attack – which usually forces the opposition to camp in their own box and hope for the best.
But that’s not been the case since his move to Manchester. The Citizens have lost once at home already this season – to Chelsea last weekend – and only won once at the Etihad Stadium since the end of September, losing one and drawing three of their last five games.
Admittedly, the solitary victory was in the Champions League against Barcelona. But it suggests City still haven’t got their home game-plan quite right and sides like Everton, Middlesbrough and Southampton, who all claimed 1-1 draws, should give Celtic hope of snatching at least a point.
Image courtesy of Whoscored.
