Sports Blog 25/08/2015: Match Preview – UEFA Champions League Play-Offs 2nd Leg, Tuesday 25th & Wednesday 26th August 2015

This is it. The final obstacle between those teams who have slogged it through Champions League qualifying and the competition proper occurs on Tuesday and Wednesday, with both Celtic and Manchester United in contention for a place in the group stages.

Before they can start dreaming of the perfect group draw (which takes place on Thursday) Celtic will have to protect a slim advantage when they face Malmo at 7.45pm on BT Sport Europe. A thrilling 1st leg saw Celtic take an early lead, with a 3rd minute goal from Leigh Griffiths and a 10th minute header from Nir Bitton leaving the Scots easily in charge heading into the break. However, Jo Inge Berget, who failed to make his presence felt when on loan at Celtic last season, made it 2-1 soon after half time, before a second goal from Griffiths gave Celtic a comfortable 3-1 advantage. That is, it did until the 90th minute, when Berget nabbed another, leaving Malmo with 2 vital away goals going into the 2nd leg.



Worryingly for Celtic Malmo overcame a similar deficit to reach the Champions League proper last year, losing 2-1 to Red Bull Salzburg before winning 3-0 in Sweden. All it would take is a goal to put the Bhoys in trouble, meaning Tuesday night’s focus will be on the forwards. Malmo have Berget on 11 goals in all competitions, and at 8/1 to score first, alongside the return of last season’s top scorer Markus Rosenberg, on 10 goals this year already and at a Super Mega PGM spread of 33-39. For the Scots, meanwhile, Leigh Griffiths has 4 goals in 5 league games this season, including the opener in Celtic’s 3-1 win over Dundee United at the weekend, and is favourite to score first at 4/1, with a Super Mega PGM spread of 33-39 thrown in for good measure.

Whilst they faltered at this point last year, against arguably easier competition in the form of NK Maribor, our Spreadex traders are (sort of) confident the Scots can go one better this season, offering a Celtic/Malmo (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0-0.2 with a Total Goals spread of 2.85-3.05.



Manchester United have slightly less to do on Wednesday night when they travel to Belgium to face Club Brugge at 7.45pm on BT Sport Europe. Last week’s 1st leg saw United put in their best performance of the (admittedly embryonic) season so far, with 2 stunning goals from Memphis Depay in the first half wiping away the 8th minute own goal from Michael Carrick that had given Brugge the lead. A last gasp header from Marouane Fellaini sealed the Belgian side’s fate, and leaves the Pro League runners-up needing to win by 2 goals to reach the group stages.

However, United can’t relax heading into Wednesday’s game. Outside of that 3-1 win the Manchester side haven’t looked convincing; two 1-0 wins on the trot in the league were joined by a goalless draw against Newcastle on Saturday, with United’s failure to convert 20 shots into a goal once again sparking calls for Louis van Gaal to add a world class striker to his ranks. The Dutch manager will be hoping his fellow countryman Depay can recapture his European form from last week, something that abandoned him against Newcastle, with the no. 7 at a Super Mega PGM spread of 23-28. Meanwhile Wayne Rooney, who hasn’t score for his club since the start of April, will be hoping to end his drought and prove his critics wrong, is sitting at a 4/1 to score first.



United shouldn’t be too troubled in Belgium; Club Brugge lost their second league game in a season only 5 matches old at the weekend, and are arguably lucky to have that away goal lifeline due to Carrick’s unfortunate slice. Our Spreadex traders seem to feel as much, offering a Manchester United/Club Brugge (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0.55-0.75 with a Total Goals spread of 2.65-2.85.