Celtic vs Lazio

Celtic will be desperate to break their winless duck in the Champions League when they meet Lazio at Celtic Park this midweek.

Celtic couldn’t have hoped for a worse start to their second consecutive Champions League group stage campaign as they succumbed to a 2-0 defeat at Feyenoord, losing Gustaf Lagerbielke and Odin Thiago Holm to red-card suspensions in the process. If it’s any consolation, Brendan Rodgers’ lads have turned the corner after a dismal night at De Kuip, racking up back-to-back wins in the Scottish Premiership to go seven points clear of arch-rivals Rangers. Despite delivering a mixed bag of performance against Italian visitors at Parkhead (W5, D5, L4), the ‘Hoops’ can draw confidence from beating Lazio twice in the 2019/20 Europa League group phase, with both wins yielding an identical 2-1 scoreline. However, it’s hard to overlook Celtic’s long-standing struggles at Europe’s top table, with ten winless home games in the Champions League (D2, L8) casting doubt on their prospects here.

On the other hand, Lazio avoided defeat in their Group E curtain-raiser under the most sensational circumstances, as goalkeeper Ivan Provedel headed home a last-gasp header to salvage a 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid. But it doesn’t mean ‘I Biancocelesti’ will take this trip in high spirits, especially after suffering a dismal 2-0 loss to AC Milan at the weekend, which left Maurizio Sarri’s side stranded in the Serie A lower reaches. On a more positive note, the Italians are unbeaten in their last seven outings in the Champions League group stages (W2, D5). Yet, it’s far from rosy, as you’d shockingly need to go back to 2003/04 for Lazio’s last Champions League victory on hostile turf. Another underwhelming result could be on the cards, considering the visitors have lost three of their four away games this season (W1).