Celtic head to the Allianz Arena looking to overturn a 2-1 deficit against Bayern Munich in their Champions League play-off on Tuesday evening, and we’ve got the latest team news and predicted lineups included in our preview.
Bayern Munich vs Celtic Preview
Scottish champions Celtic head to Munich to take on Bayern in the second leg of their Champions League play-off tie on Tuesday evening, where the Bhoys will be looking to defy the odds and overturn a 2-1 deficit.
Ex-Premier League stars Michael Olise and Harry Kane gave the Bavarians a two-goal advantage in last week’s first leg at Celtic Park, but Daizen Maeda struck back late on to give the Glaswegians some hope in the tie.
Next up: Munich 🇩🇪
The Hoops head to Germany for the second leg of the #UCL knockout phase playoff!#BayernMünchenCeltic | #CelticFC🍀 pic.twitter.com/NiQgfDc3IE
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) February 17, 2025
Since last Wednesday’s meeting, both sides have been in action in their respective domestic leagues.
Celtic maintained their 13-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership thanks to a 3-0 win over European hopefuls Dundee United, with Callum McGregor, Jota and Adam Idah grabbing a goal apiece.
Bayern, meanwhile, were held to a goalless draw by reigning Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday. With the result, Vincent Kompany’s side remain eight points clear at the summit of the German top-flight table.
Tuesday’s clash will be the sixth time that the Bhoys and Die Roten have met in European competition. Of their five meetings, the 33-time German champions have won four, while the other match ended in a draw.
Bayern Munich Team News
Former Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha is expected to make his return to the Bayern squad after recovering from illness, however Joshua Kimmich and either Leon Goretzka or Aleksandar Pavlovic are likely to start in midfield.
Canadian left-back Alphonso Davies has spent the last few weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring issue, but he has since made his return to first-team training and could be involved at the Allianz for the second leg.
Back-up goalkeeper Daniel Peretz remains out with a kidney injury.
Celtic Team News
As for the visitors, both James Forrest and Paulo Bernardo are ruled out through injury.
Rodgers isn’t expected to make many changes to the lineup that was fielded at Celtic Park last week, but both Jota and Jeffrey Schlupp could come into the XI after impressing in the win over Dundee United on Saturday.
Bayern Munich vs Celtic Predicted Lineups
Bayern Munich Predicted Lineup:
Neuer; Laimer, Upamecano, Kim, Guerreiro; Kimmich, Pavlovic; Olise, Musiala, Sane; Kane
Celtic Predicted Lineup:
Schmeichel; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Schlupp; Engels, McGregor, Hatate; Kuhn, Maeda, Jota
Bayern Munich vs Celtic Prediction
The UK’s best football betting sites have Bayern as massive 1/6 favourites to come out on top at the Allianz, while a draw is valued at 8/1 and a shock win for Celtic is priced at around 12/1.
Unfortunately for the Bhoys, we at SportsCasting agree with the bookmakers and see the hosts as clear favourites on Tuesday. We expect the likes of Kane, Olise, Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sane to cause the visiting defence plenty of problems and are predicting a rather comfortable night for the Bavarians in Munich.
Prediction: Bayern Munich 2-0 Celtic
