The Celtic Park is the stage for this UEFA Europa League group stage opener as Celtic welcome Milan to Glasgow. Celtic football fans will hope the team can kick-off their European campaign. The away fans, on the other hand, will be confident they'll get this victory given their performances in recent matches. All in all, we expect a highly-entertaining game.
Milan has enjoyed playing against the 51-time Scottish champions in European competitions. The Green and Whites have beaten the Italian outfit only once in eight trials. With the Rossoneri winning five of those games, it is clear who the dominant side has been. The most recent game ended in a 3-0 win for Milan back in the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League group stage.
The Hoops keen on getting back to winning ways
Celtic drooped another set of points in their previous game as they lost at the hands of Rangers on home soil. Centre back Connor Goldson with a goal in either half produced a stunning performance in front of both goal-posts as he led his team to a vital 2-0 victory. Neil Lennon and his troops are now four points behind their rivals but with a game less. The Celtic faithful would hope that performance wouldn't affect their performance last time out. Reason being that Milan isn't only a decent outfit, they've been in stunning form.
Milan on top form
Excluding friendlies, Milan is on an impressive run at the moment with no loss in the last 19 games. Their last defeat was back in the first game after the coronavirus lockdown was lifted. They fell short against Juventus in the Coppa Italia semifinals with the game ending 1-1 across both legs- The Old lady progressing on away goals. Since the season began, Pioli and his boys have won every single game they've played- a run spanning across seven games.
Their last victory must have been the sweetest given that it was against their local rivals Internazionale. Ibrahimovic on the 13th and 16th minute fired the red side of Milan into an early two-goal lead. Lukaku pulled one back with 29 minutes of play gone but this wasn't enough to spark a comeback as Milan rose to the top of the table.
Celtic vs Milan Team News
Celtic possible starting XI:
Barkas; Ajer, Duffy, Welsh; Frimpong, Ntcham, Brown, McGregor, Laxalt; Ajeti, Elyounoussi
Milan possible starting XI:
Donnarumma; Hernandez, Kjaer, Romagnoli, Calabria; Tonali, Bennacer; Castillejo, Calhanoglu, Leao; Zlatan
Celtic vs Milan Prediction: 1-3
Celtic will be desperate to get back to winning ways given their loss to their immediate rivals. However, we expect Milan to be an even bigger fish for the home side to fry. As a result, we predict a comprehensive win for Milan to stretch their winning run to eight games.