Celtic vs Milan preview

November 25, 2013
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Celtic vs MilanDespite sitting at the bottom of Group H, Celtic have an excellent chance to climb to second by defeating out-of-sorts AC Milan at their Parkhead.

And this is clearly the perfect time to be facing injury-hit Rossoneri, who are without a win in their last seven official matches.

While always showing a lot of promise in Europe, the Bhoys had been unable to realize their full potential in the Champions League, that is until Neil Lennon took over the reigns.

The talented manager led his side to the knockout stages last term, beating mighty Barcelona in group stage, and he has a decent chance to do it all over again.

And while Celtic have no serious competition for the SPL title now that Rangers are playing in the lower echelons, the Champions League campaign has pitted them against some of Europe’s top sides.

Even if the Bhoys lost three of four group matches, they can still keep their qualifying hopes alive, obviously providing they can defeat AC Milan.

Given that their opponents are going through a very rough patch at the moment, there may be value in odds of 3.10 (21/10) offered on home win.

Winger James Forrest is likely to return from a hamstring problem, but Adam Matthews and Steven Mouyokolo continue to miss out. Scott Brown serves the final game of his three-match ban.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Forster – Lustig, van Dijk, Ambrose, Izaguirre – Ledley, Mulgrew – Forrest, Commons, Samaras – Stokes.

Milan’s season is quickly going from bad to worse, and it remains to be seen when will the club chiefs lose patience with boss Max Allegri.

The reality is the Rossoneri are not performing badly at the moment, but the pressure is clearly getting to the players as they continue to miss some clear-cut chances.

It was the profligacy in front of the opposition goal that ended up costing them dearly against Genoa, as Max Allegri’s side missed a host of chances including a penalty to extend the winless run to seven matches.

In spite of all their problems, Milan need to try and return to winning ways as quickly as possible, although odds of 2.50 (3/2) offered on away win are not too tempting.

Philippe Mexes and Sulley Muntari have been added to the lengthy injury list, while Marco Amelia and Cristian Zaccardo have also been ruled out.

And with Stephan El Shaarawy and Mattia De Sciglio unlikely to return, Max Allegri is likely to field a similar line-up to that which shared spoils with Genoa.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-1-2): Abbiati – Abate, Zapata, Bonera, Emanuelson – Poli, De Jong, Montolivo – Kaka – Balotelli, Robinho.

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