Scottish champions Celtic host Swiss champions Young Boys in the Champions League on Wednesday, and we’ve got the latest team news and predicted lineups, as well as a prediction included in our preview.
Celtic vs Young Boys Preview
Brendan Rodgers and his Celtic side welcome Young Boys to Glasgow on MD7 of the Champions League league phase on Wednesday, where the Bhoys will be aiming to move one step closer to securing knockout round qualification.
The Scottish champions are currently in 21st place in the table, level on nine points with the mighty Real Madrid and a point ahead of Manchester City, having recorded two wins, three draws and one loss in the competition thus far.
A victory over Young Boys can secure Celtic’s place in the knockout rounds, however they’ll need both Stuttgart to fail to beat winless Slovan Bratislava and PSG to fail to beat Manchester City too.
Last time out, the Bhoys were held to a goalless stalemate away at Dinamo Zagreb, following on from their 1-1 draw against Club Brugge on MD5. Domestically, they have suffered just one defeat in their last 10, sit at the top of the Scottish top-flight table, and come into this one off the back of a 2-1 win over Kilmarnock in the Scottish Cup on Saturday.
🤩✨ The #UCL returns this week! #CelticBSCYB | #CelticFC🍀 pic.twitter.com/ZDzXee20Wb
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) January 20, 2025
As for Wednesday’s visitors, they are rock bottom of the Champions League table. Giorgio Contini’s side are one of three sides, alongside RB Leipzig and Slovan Bratislava, to have lost all six of their league phase matches this term, with heavy defeats to Stuttgart, Atalanta, Barcelona and Aston Villa contributing to a dreadful goal difference of -19.
Unsurprisingly, they can no longer advance to the knockout stages of the competition, but regardless, they’ll be looking to finish the league phase strongly as they take on Celtic and Red Star Belgrade in their final two matches.
Young Boys, currently ninth of 12 in the Swiss top-flight table, head into their MD7 fixture off the back of a 0-0 draw with bottom of the table Winterthur in their last league outing on Saturday afternoon.
Celtic Team News
The Bhoys got through their cup tie against Kilmarnock at the weekend unscathed, therefore James Forrest is their only confirmed absentee for Young Boys’ visit, with the veteran still sidelined with a foot injury.
As has been the case in the majority of their matches this term, Kyogo Furuhashi should lead the line for Celtic, likely supported in attack by his compatriot Daizen Maeda and German winger Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn.
Reo Hatate, Arne Engels and Callum McGregor should also retain their places in midfield, while Kasper Schmeichel, Alistair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty and Greg Taylor are expected to make up the back line.
Young Boys Team News
The visitors, meanwhile, are without Saidy Janko (muscular), Miguel Chaiwa (muscular) and Christian Fassnacht (unspecified) due to their respective injury concerns.
Contini opted to replace former first-choice goalkeeper David von Ballmoos with Marvin Keller at the weekend, and the Switzerland Under-21 international should retain his spot in the lineup after keeping a clean sheet.
Celtic vs Young Boys Predicted Lineups
Celtic Predicted Lineup:
Schmeichel; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Taylor; McGregor, Engels, Hatate; Kuhn, Furuhashi, Maeda
Young Boys Predicted Lineup:
Keller; Blum, Zoukrou, Benito, Hadjam; Ugrinic, Lakomy; Males, Colley, Monteiro; Itten
Celtic vs Young Boys Prediction
In the lead-up to the clash, the UK’s best football betting sites are heavily favouring Celtic to come out on top at around 1/3, while a Young Boys win is rated at 8/1 and a draw is priced at 4/1.
Considering both sides’ runs of form throughout the season and in recent weeks, as well as Young Boys’ awful record in the league phase, we can only see one winner in this one, and that’s the 54-time Scottish champions.
Kuhn, Furuhashi and Maeda should cause plenty of problems for the visiting defenders, as they have done so often both domestically and in Europe this term, and we expect the trio to combine to put a few past a struggling Young Boys outfit.
Prediction: Celtic 3-1 Young Boys
