Former Celtic player Charlie Nicholas predicts that the Hoops will lose against Rennes this evening in their Europa League group stage match.
The Sky Sports pundit doesn’t think the Scottish champions’ defence will be up to the task of keeping their opponent’s out, although he does believe Neil Lennon’s side will threaten on the break:
“Celtic will be good on the counter-attack, but their reputation is always the same. They get scared when they travel away from home.”
“They don’t know where to pitch their defence and whether to play a squeezing game or not. They will have technically gifted players and pace out wide, where they will look to exploit. Celtic still have defensive injuries and will not threaten here.”
Nicholas has gone for a 2-1 win to Rennes, and fans on Twitter are not particularly happy with the prediction:
I used to like him as well ?
— Tina ?️?????????? (@9Trafferty) 17 September 2019
Why is this guy on TV
— RyanM? (@RyanMal86283068) 17 September 2019
losing only 2-1 away from home in Europe would not be bad for us
— Joe Morgan (@joemorgan4) 17 September 2019
This is the same guy who predicted city would beat Norwich 6-2 on Saturday and has City keeping a clean sheet against Shakhtar away this week. Ain’t got a clue.
— Michael Tiernan ????????????????? (@michael_tiernan) 17 September 2019
So celtic will score yet not threaten
— j, (@rjrjrj88) 17 September 2019
Never a true Celtic man , jumped ship as soon as he could .
— paul rooney (@paul_paulrooney) 17 September 2019
Charlie who?
— eric doyle (@celtz1967) 17 September 2019
Stopped reading at Charlie Nicholas believes
— holy moli bolingoli (@ChapmanP12) 17 September 2019
Does anyone know what was the last Celtic game that Charlie attended at Parkhead ? He knows nothing about this Celtic team other than what SKY sports news tells him never a true friend of Celts .
— Anthony Peebles (@AnthonyPeebles3) 17 September 2019
It is likely to be a tough night in France but Celtic’s defence has improved in recent games and they do look more confident than they did during the Champions League qualifiers at the beginning of the season.
As Nicholas says, Rennes have started the campaign well, sitting second in Ligue One after five games played, but they have struggled to score goals so far, having hit the back of the net just six times.
If Celtic can keep things tight defensively, there is every chance that the Hoops can create opportunities going the other way and get a result.