UEFA Champions League – Celtic Eye Win Over Bottom-Placed Young Boys on Wednesday 22 January at Paradise…
The scene is set for a thrilling UEFA Champions League match as Celtic play host to Young Boys at Celtic Park on Wednesday, 22 January 2025.
This match is made even more interesting as Celtic played Young Boys on two previous occasions in the UEFA Europa League. Celtic have the upper hand with one win and one draw against Switzerland’s Champions.
This season apart Young Boys are known for punching above their weight in European competition, but they face an uphill task according to SportsBoom’s Champions League match preview.
Brendan Rodgers’ side are flying high at the top of the Scottish Premiership and have dropped points at home just once – a 2-2 draw against Aberdeen back in October.
The Bhoys are seen as overwhelming favourites by the online football bookmakers to see off the Swiss opposition, but Young Boys are no strangers to causing an upset. Who will come out on top? Let’s find out as we assess both teams.
Celtic vs Young Boys – Match Preview
Celtic
Celtic find themselves in 21st position on the Champions League table with nine points from six matches played which includes two wins, three draws and one defeat. The Glasgow giants are unbeaten in over a year at Celtic Park in all competitions.
Brendan Rodgers has guided his side to Premier Sports League Cup glory with the Hoops beating theRangers 5-4 on penalty kicks after the exciting final ended in a 3-3 draw after extra time. Celtic have also established a 13 points lead over theRangers at the half-way point in the Scottish Premiership so are accordingly well on their way to retaining their title and making it 4IAR.
The impact players for Celtic include:
Kyogo Furuhashi
The Japanese forward has banged in eight goals for his team throughout the season. Kyogo Furuhashi will be looking to make his opposition defenders chase shadows in this game.
Callum McGregor
The Celtic captain controls the midfielder and will want to put in such a big performance that the Young Boys defenders wish to never face him again. Callum McGregor has also scored six goals for Celtic throughout the season.
Nicolas Kuhn
The German forward has scored an impressive 16 goals for Celtic throughout the season, including two in the Champions League and a double at the weekend against St Mirren, Nicolas Kuhn will be looking to run circles around the Young Boys defence. This game presents the talented forward with an opportunity to play his natural expansive game.
Young Boys
Young Boys are last on the Champions League table in 36th place without a single point collected from six matches played which includes six defeats in a row, conceding 22 goals and scoring only three. Young Boys beat Servette 2-1 on 15 December 2024. Before this match they lost 5-1 against Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart. The key players for Young Boys are:
Joel Monteiro
The Swiss forward has smashed in five goals for his team throughout the season. This match at an exciting stadium could be the platform for Monteiro to find the back of the net if the Celtic defender aren’t totally switched on.
Silvere Ganvoula
The Congolese forward has also scored five goals for Young Boys throughout the season. Ganvoula will be given the freedom of the field by his team to create unpredictable play for Young Boys.
Cedric Itten
Itten is assured a very warm welcome at Celtic Park as he used to play for city rivals theRangers! The Swiss forward has scored four goals for his team throughout the season. Obviously Cedric Itten will have extra motivation to try to get one over on the finest team in Scotland. He’ll try his best to trouble the Celtic defence with his attacking game.
Prediction – Celtic to Win 3-0
After studying both teams current form both in the Champions League and also in domestic football, all signs point to a sizeable Celtic victory. We reckon that the Hoops will absolutely smash Young Boys with some champagne football that secures the Celtic target of reaching the play-off rounds with one match to spare. That’s against English Premier League side Aston Villa a week later and with qualification pressure out the way, Celtic can head to the West Midlands looking to put on a show and win yet another Battle of Britain.
Celtic have beaten the likes of Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers in big European matches and Brendan Rodgers will want to add Aston Villa to that list of scalps.
