Midtjylland vs Celtic

A 1-1 first-leg draw in Scotland gives Midtjylland and Celtic everything to play for at MCH Arena in the return leg of their Champions League qualifying tie.

Midtjylland kick-started their 2021/22 season with a narrow 1-0 away win over domestic rivals Aalborg last time out, having gone winless in their previous two competitive fixtures (D1, L1). Bringing the 2020/21 campaign into the equation, the Danish Superliga runners-up have picked up just two victories across their last seven matches in all competitions (D2, L3), conceding the first-half opener in four of the five games they didn’t win. In European football alone, the ‘Ulvene’ have gone three consecutive home fixtures without winning (D1, L2) since claiming a comfortable 4-1 triumph over Slavia Praha in the 2020/21 Champions League play-offs. But, before succumbing to a 2-1 defeat to domestic rivals Odense in their most recent home outing, Midtjylland had enjoyed an eight-game unbeaten home streak in all competitions (W7, D1).

Meanwhile, coming into this showdown, Celtic suffered a horrendous 6-2 loss to West Ham United in a friendly meeting. The visitors’ competitive form cannot provide much confidence to Ange Postecoglou either, with the ‘Hoops’ managing just a single triumph from their last six fixtures across all competitions (D3, L2). On the bright side, the Scottish giants boast a solid overall continental record versus Danish opposition, having lost just 26.67% of their European clashes against such adversaries (GP15 – W7, D4, L4). There has been plenty of entertainment in Celtic’s recent European trips as each of their last three continental away fixtures saw over 3.5 goals and both teams on the scoresheet (D1, L2). Worryingly, though, they have drawn a blank in four of their last six competitive trips, netting precisely once per game in the other two.