Spain's best team has had a mediocre UCL thus far.
FC Barcelona barely won their encounter with Celtic two weeks ago at home. They trailed 1-0 for almost 30 minutes before Andres Iniesta tied it up. But after the 45 minute mark, Celtic held Barca at bay for over 45 minutes until Jordi Alba scored a clutch goal in stoppage to win maintain Barca's perfect record in the UCL. They are still rather unstable at defense and have shown susceptibility on the counter attack. With a win, they will lock up the group if Spartak Moscow does not defeat Benfica.
The most interesting factor in this upcoming match is the fact that Celtic will be at home where they have a record of three wins, one draw, and one loss with just four goals against. The looked tremendous against Barca at the Camp Nou as they pressured the Spanish possession game and looked relaxed and organized. More importantly, they nullified Lionel Messi by limiting his space and piling defenders on him at every chance. Coming into the tournament, they looked like they could end up in last place in such a solid group. But after three matches and especially after their showing against Barca, they could easily walk away with second in the group.
Prediction: Most would probably claim Barcelona an easy favorite in this match. However, even a solid team like Barca is bound to lose one game at some point in the tournament. They have not been dominant in any of their matches and could fall victim to a confident Celtic side. This may not be popular, but I feel an upset coming: 2-1 Celtic.
Start Time: 2:45 PM EST
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