Ex-Manchester City and Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli says he expects Celtic to lose to Lazio when the two teams meet in the Champions League this evening.

Speaking to TvPlay (quotes via Sport Witness), the former Italian international predicted that the Serie A side will secure the 3 points at Celtic Park:

“If Lazio play well [they should win]. It would be strange if Lazio didn’t win. It’s their fault if they don’t win.”

It does seem as if people in Italy are being overly confident about Lazio’s chances heading into tonight’s encounter.

Celtic may not have a great record in Europe recently but they can more than hold their own, even against more illustrious opponents.

The Hoops didn’t win at home in the Champions League last season

Balotelli and other pundits in Italy may have looked at Celtic’s form at home in the Champions League and assumed it would be an easy victory. After all, the Scottish champions did lose to Real Madrid and RB Leipzig, whilst also drawing against Shakhtar Donetsk.

However, they were very competitive in the first half versus Real, despite going on to lose 3-0, while they should have beaten Shakhtar.

Lazio are not playing well

Balotelli’s confidence is all the more baffling considering Maurizio Sarri’s side have had a pretty awful start to their league campaign, having lost 4 of their first 7 matches. They have been beaten by the likes of Lecce, Genoa, Juventus and AC Milan.

Sarri has blamed injuries for the club’s poor performances but the fact that they are 16th in the Serie A table going into this evening’s game does suggest they can be got at.

Whether Brendan Rodgers’ side possess the quality to take advantage of their opponent’s bad form, we shall have to wait and see, but you have to believe they have a good chance of getting a result.