Celtic vs AIK Predictions

Celtic’s entire season changed on the back of one result last week, despite the Scottish Premiership being just two rounds into the new campaign. The Bhoys saw a 4-3 loss to Cluj in the Champions League, dumping them out of that competition and leaving them to fight it out for a Europa League group stage place. However, the hosts aren’t done suffering quite yet, with Swedish champions AIK likely to provide a stern test for the Glasgow giants. Could we see back to back European defeats at Celtic Park for the Bhoys?

The Celtic players were desperate to return to the Champions League, but the club directors will now be feeling the pinch. That defeat means that Celtic are missing out on around £30million from Europe’s biggest tournament, income which they could really have used. Now the money they received from Arsenal for Kieran Tierney will be used to fill the void in their financials, meaning that the side has been weakened compared to last year. Quite how that’s supposed to move the club forward is another matter.

AIK narrowly made it through the last round of this competition, following their 3-2 aggregate win against Moldovan side Sheriff. The Swedish champions are having a mixed campaign in the Allsvenskan, sitting four points shy of the top with 10 more games left to play. The visitors could yet seal another domestic title, but will they be able to match a Celtic side who are aiming to finish the season with their ninth straight success on the bounce in Scotland?

Neil Lennon’s side went out in Europe due to their defensive issues, so expect that to be the focus for AIK here. The visitors should look to get forward and create problems for the Bhoys, especially given their recent scoring record. AIK have scored in their last nine trips across all competitions, while they’ve seen both teams score in their six European ties this summer. The visitors have seen both teams score in three of their last five games in this competition, failing to keep a clean sheet in any of the five.

We expect Celtic to concede given how easily the shipped four goals to Cluj. That result means that Celtic’s last four games have all seen both teams find the back of the net. The hosts have also failed to keep a clean sheet in six of their last seven matches in the Europa League, so it is fair to say that both sides have issues at the back. As a result, we think both teams to score is the best way to go in this first leg.