20th Aug. UEFA Champions League - Celtic FC VS FC Kairat Almaty Prediction
UEFA Champions League - Celtic FC VS FC Kairat Almaty
Match Time:21-08-2025 03:00 Thursday (GMT+8)
Football Livescore | Match Prediction & Tips
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Celtic FC
Celtic FC, coached by Brendan Rodgers, enters the play-off round directly as Scottish Premiership champions, having finished 21st in the 2024/25 UCL with 12 points from three wins and three draws. Their recent form includes three straight league wins (3-0 vs Kilmarnock, 2-0 vs St Mirren, 2-0 vs Hibernian), averaging 2.3 goals scored and 0.0 conceded. Key players include Daizen Maeda (1 goal vs Kairat’s domestic rivals Astana in 2017), Callum McGregor, and Kyogo Furuhashi, with a probable 4-3-3 lineup: Schmeichel; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; McGregor, Engels, Hatate; Forrest, Furuhashi, Maeda. Strengths include their unbeaten home record (3 wins in 3 this season) and attacking depth, but a lack of recent UCL qualifying success (4 eliminations since 2017/18) is a concern. They aim to build a first-leg lead, leveraging their 5-1 UCL win over Slovan Bratislava last season, whom Kairat defeated in the third qualifying round.
FC Kairat Almaty
FC Kairat Almaty, led by Rafael Urazbakhtin, advanced past Slovan Bratislava via a 4-3 penalty shootout (1-1 aggregate) on August 12, 2025, after beating Olimpija Ljubljana (3-1 agg) and KuPS (3-2 agg). Their recent form shows three wins and two losses in five competitive matches, averaging 1.8 goals scored and 0.8 conceded. Key players include Dastan Satpayev (17-year-old forward, 1 goal vs Slovan), Jorginho, and Aleksandr Martynovich, with a probable 4-3-3 lineup: Zarutskiy; Martynovich, Sorokin, Mata, Tapalov; Gromyko, Arad, Glazer; Edmilson, Jorginho, Satpayev. Strengths include their set-piece effectiveness and penalty shootout resilience, but a 3-2 league loss to Yelimay Semey and a lack of away wins in their last six UCL qualifiers are issues. They aim to keep the tie competitive ahead of the second leg in Almaty on August 26, 2025.
Head-to-Head
This is the first meeting between Celtic and Kairat Almaty in UEFA competition. Celtic have a strong record against Kazakh sides, defeating Shakhter Karagandy 3-2 (2013/14) and Astana 8-4 (2017/18) in UCL qualifiers. Kairat beat Aberdeen 3-2 in the 2015/16 Europa League, averaging 2.5 goals in those matches, with 60% over 2.5 goals and 60% both teams scoring (BTTS).
Predicted Score: Celtic FC 3-1 FC Kairat Almaty
Celtic’s Maeda and Furuhashi face Kairat’s Satpayev and Jorginho, with Celtic’s home dominance and UCL experience tested by Kairat’s disciplined defense and set-piece threat. Celtic are heavy favorites (1.33 odds, 75% win probability) over Kairat (9.00), with a draw at 5.00. Trends (Celtic: 60% over 2.5 goals; Kairat: 40% BTTS) and Celtic’s record vs Kazakh teams suggest goals, with betting tips favoring Celtic -1.5 Asian Handicap (1.80) and over 2.5 goals (1.65). Cards may be issued in the 18°C evening, with Celtic’s 10 fouls and Kairat’s 11 per game suggesting 3-4 cards. Celtic aim for a commanding first-leg win, while Kairat hope to stay in contention for the second leg. The winner advances to the UCL league phase; the loser enters the Europa League. Celtic is likely to score through Furuhashi and Maeda, with Satpayev possibly netting for Kairat. Celtic’s home form and attacking quality should secure a two-goal lead, though Kairat’s set-piece threat may yield a goal, keeping the tie alive.
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