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Celtic were perhaps slightly the better side in last week’s encounter but were left frustrated as they couldn’t hold on to their first half lead. Midtjylland will be the happier of the two teams at the midway stage of this tie, knowing a clean sheet will steer them through, as well as coming into the second leg with home advantage.
Moreover, Celtic appear to have a challenge motivating star striker Odsonne Edouard, with the Frenchman likely to depart over the coming weeks with just a year left on his contract.
Both sides saw red in the first-leg encounter, though Nir Bitton’s early bath threatens to be hugely damaging ahead of this second clash.
The 29-year-old was by far the most experienced man at the back for Celtic, selected in a makeshift defence with Christopher Jullien sidelined through injury and Kristoffer Ajer on his way to complete a move to Brentford, as Ange Postecoglou’s options appear increasingly thin on the ground.
New signings Osaze Urhoghide and Carl Starfelt should help, especially in the case of the latter after making 31 appearances for Rubin Kazan last season as the Russian outfit finished fourth domestically.
However, Starfelt won’t actually be available just yet as he must spend time in quarantine and it’s clear that more new faces are needed.
The likes of Shane Duffy, Diego Laxalt and Jonjoe Shelvey have all departed the club following their loan spells, while Jeremie Frimpong and Hatem Abd Elhamed started the exodus early as they left half way through last season.
The Hoops have been thumped 6-2 by West Ham in a friendly since last week’s meeting with Midtjylland, and the scoreline could certainly have been worse, giving little encouragement that their defence will hold up here.
Neither Vasilis Barkas nor Scott Bain have convinced between the sticks either, while it’s worth noting that the Hammers were without star midfield duo Declan Rice and Thomas Soucek following their involvement at Euro 2020.
Midtjylland Draw No Bet
Celtic aren’t the only ones losing players with Anders Dreyer unavailable following his red card last week, while Midtjylland also sold key midfielder Frank Onyeka to Brentford just prior to the first leg.
However, the Danes should retain enough about them to remain more than competitive against their Glaswegian opponents, who las qualified for the Champions League group stages back in 2017/18 when possessing a much stronger squad.
Midtjylland have demonstrated they’re no pushover in their recent European exploits. They mauled Young Boys and Slavia Prague in qualifiers last term, and will be full of confidence after getting their season up and running with a win away at Aalborg on Saturday.
Like Celtic, they’re also under new management with Bo Henriksen taking the helm this summer, but early indications suggest they’re better equipped to move into the next round.
Midtjylland Draw No Bet At 7/10
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