da blaze casino： Celtic’s summer gauntlet of UEFA Champions League qualifiers continues on Wednesday night when they host Norwegian champions Rosenborg at Celtic Park. It’s a massive clash, victory across the two legs and the Hoops are guaranteed to be in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League and will have just one more tie to get through to make to the groups of the big competition.
da pinup bet： Rosenborg are a name that used to be synonymous with the Champions League, making 11 appearances in the group stages since they were introduced in the 1990s. However they are not the force they once were and haven’t reached that stage of the competition since 2007/2008.
They scraped past Dundalk in the last round of qualifying and Celtic fans should rightly be confident of securing a result against them.
However they are already 23 competitive matches into their season and have lost only twice in all competitions, meaning they may be harder to see off than you might expect.
If they are to get a result against the Hoops they’ll be hoping to nick an away goal at Celtic Park and these are the THREE players we reckon are most likely to do that….
Matthias Vilhjalmsson
Matthias Vilhjalmsson is Rosenborg’s top scorer this season, scoring 15 times in 21 appearances for the Norwegian club. He’s well on his way to beating his best ever single season goal record which stands at 19.
At the age of 30 he hasn’t been automatic first pick in the striking position at Rosenborg this season, playing less minutes than other forwards at the club. Despite that he’s been banging in the goals and is unarguably a threat on Wednesday night.
He was the player that got the side to this stage of the competition, coming off the bench and scoring an extra-time winner against Dundalk last week to cause the Irish side heartbreak.
Will he start or will he be utilised as a super sub? Regardless, he’s someone Celtic need to watch out for.
Nicklas Bendtner
At one point in his career, Nicklas Bendtner threatened to be a striker that could perform consistently at the highest level of the game, but it’s fair to say he has never realised the potential he once held. Spells at Wolfsburg and Nottingham Forest since leaving Arsenal have been unsuccessful and he’s found himself frozen out of the Danish national side.
His fortunes at Rosenborg are progressing better this year but the Norwegian top-flight is hardly the strongest league around. He’s scored 6 goals in 20 appearances for the club and is in line to start the match at Celtic Park and lead the line in a counter-attacking set-up.
There’s no doubt that one his day he possesses a certain quality and against what could be a makeshift Celtic defence he could find some joy in a high profile match that puts him to the forefront of British football fans’ minds again.
Milan Jevtovic
Rosenborg look set to utilise quick counter-attacks and attempt to incisively catch Celtic out as they push to create an advantage in the tie at home.
At the heart of that strategy will likely be winger Milan Jevtovic. On loan from Turkish side Antalyaspor, Jevtovic is enjoying his football this season and has scored 9 goals in 21 appearances, making him the club’s second top-scorer.
With the ability to finish well from distance and take on defenders, he could be Rosenborg’s stand-out performer on Wednesday and is someone that the Hoops will have to shut down if they are to keep the Norwegians to a nil scoreline.
Due to defensive injuries, the Hoops may be forced to play a three at the back and that’s a scenario that a player like Jevtovic can exploit, especially if the likes of Kieran Tierney and Mikael Lustig get themselves forward to support the Celtic attack.
He could serve Brendan Rodgers a cold reminder that at European level, it’s a lot riskier to play his expansive style of football.