GLASGOW, UK - Celtic's first Champions League group tie is at home to Benfica this Wednesday, and they are 3/1 outsiders (bet £1 to win £3) to win the game, only with Stan James.
Most firms price them just shorter than 3/1 to prevail in what will undoubtedly be a tough tie against the team seeded second out of four in the draw. Celtic were fourth seeds but given they are at home, they realistically need to be looking to win this to have a good chance of qualifying.
Benfica are best at 23/20 with Paddy Power to win the game, and are generally available at 21/20, with Bodog, William Hill and Coral. They have a significantly superior squad on paper to Celtic, but of course are dealing with several unknown variables such as the Celtic Park atmosphere and the trouble of flying across Europe for the game.
As a result it might be worth looking at the draw, which is best at 5/2 on Betfair and with Sky Bet, as Celtic's endeavour might cancel out Benfica's guile. It will probably be a close match if the frailties of the Celtic defence aren't too readily exposed from an early stage.
Celtic have kept one clean sheet in the league all season, conceding six goals in five games, which doesn't bode well ahead of a tie against a side who have scored ten goals in their opening three Portguese league games.
It's been a strong start for Benfica, holding Braga to a 2-2 draw and then beating Vitoria and Nacional 5-0 and 3-0 respectively, and with Pablo Aimar pulling the strings in midfield and Oscar Cardozo banging them in up front, it is tempting to get on Benfica to win in the outright market given better than evens is offered.
Cardozo has three in three games, and is best at 13/8 with Blue Square to score anytime in the game, and best at 11/2 only with Boylesports and Coral to score first.
Benfica's Rodrigo Moreno is 21/10 to score at all with Bet365, while Nolito is better at 12/5 with Sky Bet.
Celtic's main hope of goals will be Gary Hooper, who is best at 3/1 with Sporting Bet to get on the scoresheet, and Giorgios Samaras who is also 3/1 to score, this time with Bet365.
Kris Commons has three goals in four league games and you can get on the Celtic midfielder at 5/1 with William Hill to score anytime in the game, and 11/1 with Bet Victor and Blue Square to score first.
Celtic certainly have a decent chance of winning the game despite being underdogs and manager Neil Lennon has admitted to concentrating on this game for a long time in a season when the league is less of a challenge.
The Bhoys are 3/4 with Boylesports to win the game with a (+1) handicap, which looks decent value given Benfica are somewhat of an unknown quantity away from home in Europe.
Celtic are 17/10 to win the game with a draw no bet with Betinternet, while Benfica are 8/15 to do likewise with Stan James, which doesn't look great value.
The match kicks off at 1945 BST on Wednesday.
Celtic v Benfica Odds
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