Lazio vs Celtic Odds
| Lazio Odds | +137 |
| Celtic Odds | +190 |
| Draw | +250 |
| Over / Under | 2.5 -125 / +100 |
Brendan Rodgers' Celtic are looking to bounce back from their 2-0 defeat to Feyenoord in the opening round of this season's Champions League. They will be hosting a full strength Lazio squad led by Maurizio Sarri who has struggled so far this season.
Celtic lost their opening Champions League fixture in a match to forget where they were shown two red cards and never truly looked like scoring. Lazio were able to scrape a point due to a 95th minute equalizer by Ivan Provedel against Atletico Madrid.
The league form of these two sides so far could not be further apart. Celtic currently lead the Scottish Premiership with 19 points out of a possible 21 and have easily controlled their matches so far. They have a league leading xG of 12.21, nearly 2 xG more than Rangers and over 6 xG more than Heart of Midlothian. Lazio currently sit 15th in Serie A, only creating 5.9 npxG.
Let's get into my preview and pick for this Lazio vs Celtic fixture.
Lazio
After a second place finish in Serie A last season, Lazio have had a nightmare start to this season, sitting on seven points and 15th in the league.
The departure of Milinkovic-Savic has been a bigger loss than anticipated for Sarri's side as he was a critical piece in this team last season. He contributed nine goals in the league last year and was one of the few players in this side who could break up play in the middle of the park and turn it into a quick transition opportunity for Lazio.
They have severely missed his presence this season as they are struggling to create many big chances at all. Creating only 5.9 npxG is not going to result in many victories and that has shown so far this season.
They have been controlling possession quite well but do not end up with much to show for it. Players like Luis Alberto, Zaccagni and Felipe Anderson have all still been quality this season, but they seem to have taken a step back in terms of creativity.
Lazio have been fairly average so far defensively, giving up 10 goals on 9.2 xGA. It is always going to be hard to win matches in Europe when you are not creating many big chances and Lazio are going to have to find something that works soon. Luckily they will have a full strength lineup against Celtic.
Celtic
This will be a real test for Celtic, who need to get a result here in order to have a chance of advancing out of the group.
Brendan Rodgers' Celtic have been fantastic in the league so far this season and are looking to make a real push this year in the Champions League. Their match against Feyenoord in the first round of matches was one to forget, though it will affect this match as well due to the suspensions.
Gustaf Lagerbielke has been one of their most reliable center backs so far this season, but he will be unavailable for this match due to a red card. Along with the injury to Carter-Vickers, Celtic will most likely be playing with Nat Phillips and Liam Scales as the two center halves. This could be cause for concern but they have played together in a match this season and were on the better end of a 3-0 win.
The key for this Celtic side is the midfield three of Matthew O'Riley, Callum McGregor and David Turnbull. They are the ones that make this side tick as the are able to control the midfield and the tempo being played. If this trio is able to control possession and the pace of the match then Lazio will be forced to sit back as they are not an elite pressing side by any means.
Lazio vs Celtic
Pick & Prediction
Celtic do have some injuries in their side and will be forced to play their third-choice center back, but I don't think that is going to be an issue in this match. The atmosphere at Celtic Park is going to be fantastic like it normally is and this will give the Celtic players a boost to get a result in a match where they really need it if they want a chance of advancing out of this group.
I see no value on a struggling Lazio side, who have failed to create more than 1.6 xG in a single match all season. With them being away from home at a hostile environment in Celtic Park, I see value on Celtic in this one and will be playing them draw no bet at +110.
