Kairat v Celtic: Nervy Bhoys to be involved in a tight tussle | OneFootball

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Can Celtic avoid a Champions League slip-up in Kazakhstan?

Celtic play a season-defining match in Kazakhstan on Tuesday evening and Kevin Hatchard is expecting an incredibly tense affair.

Kairat v CelticTuesday 26 August, 17:45Live on Amazon Prime

Celtic's Champions League hopes hang in the balance after last week's lacklustre display at Parkhead. The Scottish champions generated just 0.54 xG and struck the target only three times. Daizen Maeda wasted Celtic's best chance, as the Bhoys failed to score at home for the first time in 47 competitive matches.

The dynamic of this tie has now shifted completely. While Kairat's away record in these qualifiers had been hitherto underwhelming, their home record deserves plenty of respect. They have won all three home matches in the UCL qualifiers, and haven't conceded a single goal so far in any of them.

Slovenian side Olimpia Ljubljana were edged out 1-0, Finnish outfit KuPS were demolished 3-0 and Slovan Bratislava were beaten 1-0, as Dastan Satpayev netted a late penalty. Kairat have won 11 of their 14 home games this season in all competitions.

Celtic have been rock solid in the Scottish top flight, winning all three league games without conceding. They also smashed Falkirk 4-1 in the League Cup, but long-serving manager Brendan Rodgers has admitted the squad isn't where he wants it to be in terms of quality. He was also highly critical of much of his team's display in the first leg of this tie, suggesting his charges had effectively wasted the first-half.

Now a stiff challenge awaits. Celtic didn't win any of their five away games in the Champions League last season, and in the season before they lost all three of their away games in the group stage, failing to score in all three matches. While this game isn't perhaps against an opponent of that quality, it is complicated by a gruelling 7500 km flight to Kazakhstan.

I'm surprised to see Under 2.5 Goals trading at a healthy 2.28 here on the Exchange. Kairat aren't going to be attack-minded here, and their offensive power has been reduced by a knock to Brazilian striker Edimilson, who has reportedly been injured in training. This is going to be a tense affair, with millions of pounds on the line. Win, and you qualify for the league phase of the Champions League. Fail, and you drop into the Europa League.

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