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Celtic v Man United Odds

CELTIC v MAN UTD BETTING – 5th November

Manchester United are joint leaders of Group E, along with Villareal, each side with 7 points. Celtic and Aab Aalborg seem to have no chance of progressing, having each gained only 1 point from three games. The bookmakers agree, with Manchester United attracting a quote of 4/9 to win the group from Paddy Power, with Villareal at 7/4 (Stan James), while Celtic are 125/1 (Paddy Power) and Aab Aalborg 500/1 (bet365). Odds to qualify from the group are 1/100 United (Betfair), 1/50 Villareal, 16/1 Celtic and 50/1 Aab Aalborg (all Paddy Power). United next visit Parkhead for the fixture with Celtic on 5th November.

TV Coverage

Live TV coverage will be provided, from 19.30, by Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports HD2.

Previous Meetings

Prior to their recent Group E encounter, honours were even between Manchester United and Celtic in Champions’ League encounters. In the 2006-07 competition, United triumphed 3-2 at Old Trafford, while Celtic were victorious 1-0 at Parkhead. Since then, one of them has spent around £100 million and gone on to lift the Champions League. Any away win would do for the other, who have now lost 17 out of 18 games on their travels in Europe, and are the Champions League’s worst performers at away grounds. Manchester United contemptuously dismissed Celtic in their recent all-British encounter with a 3-0 win at Old Trafford.

The visitors were comprehensively outplayed and penned in their own half for long stretches. Dimitar Berbatov fired the home side ahead after 29 minutes, though seemingly offside. Celtic might have been level at the break when John O’Shea turned Shunsuke Nakamura’s free-kick towards his own goal. Thankfully for the Irishman, ‘keeper Van der Sar was alive to the danger. After 51 minutes, Celtic ‘keeper Artur Boruc failed to hold on to a fierce free-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo, allowing Berbatov to complete his brace. Again, he looked suspiciously offside. Wayne Rooney joined in with a 76th minute goal, but even the 3-0 scoreline failed to reflect United’s total dominance.

Sir Alex Ferguson was understandably delighted with his team’s performance. However, he admitted that Celtic’s loss of Giorgios Samaras and Jan Venegoor of Hesselink was a major blow. Looking forward to the return fixture at Parkhead, he said, “We have to think a result in Glasgow will get us through. But Celtic have a very good record up there, so it will be a difficult game.” However, Celtic manager Gordon Strachan described Manchester United as the best team he had seen in Europe after they outclassed his side at Old Trafford. Strachan said that United were warm favourites to successfully retain their Champions’ League title.

Key Players

Celtic

Shunsuke Nakamura
Shunsuke Nakamura is a Japanese international midfielder, who has scored 22 times in 81 international appearances. He became the first Japanese player to score in the Champions’ League. A natural left-footer, he is versatile in terms of position, effective in left, right and central midfield. Renowned for his vision and touch, he is also a free-kick specialist. Slightly built Nakamura has been criticised for lack of strength on the ball. However, he has flourished in the physical Scottish Premier League. Former Tottenham Hotspur player Steve Perryman once remarked that Nakamura was so good, he “could open a tin of beans with his left foot.”

Manchester United

Dimitar Berbatov
Berbatov finally earned his dream move to Manchester United after a summer-long transfer saga. The Bulgarian has already been to a Champions’ League final, with Bayer Leverkusen in 2002. He had two stunning seasons in the Premier League, scoring 46 goals in 101 appearances for Spurs in 2006-07 and 2007-08. His class, grace, passing and goalscoring ability attracted a price tag of £30 million. Having taken some time to break his goalscoring duck for United, he has now scored four times in two Champions’ League appearances.

Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar, the most-capped Dutch international ever, signed for United in 2005. He moved to Old Trafford after spending four years with Fulham. Van der Sar showed in his first few months at Old Trafford that he is an immense goalkeeper, commanding in his area and athletic and agile for such a giant of a player. A goalkeeper with great agility for one so tall (6ft 6in), he is a reliable and commanding figure – a colossus between the sticks. Van der Sar’s age (37) means that United may soon be seeking a long-term alternative. However, following Mark Bosnich, Fabien Barthez, Tim Howard and Roy Carroll, the majority of United fans will be delighted to maintain the status quo for as long as possible.

All odds correct at time of writing. Please click here for the latest odds