Arsenal V Celtic: Champions League Preview

Arsenal vs Celtic

Wednesday 26 August 2009,

Emirates Stadium

Kick-Off: 19:45

Arsenal

Arsenal come into the second leg of this Champions League qualification fixture after a confident 4-1 weekend victory over Portsmouth at home.

The win means that Arsenal have scored 10 goals in their first two Premier League matches of the season, and 12 goals in their first three matches of the 2009/10 season.

Arsenal will still be without Tomas Rosicky, Johan Djourou, Samir Nasri and Lukasz Fabianski, and they may also be without captain Cesc Fabregas, who limped off at half-time in the win against Portsmouth. Theo Walcott may be fit for the match.

Celtic

Celtic enjoyed a confident 5-2 weekend win over St Johnstone in the Scottish Premier League, with two goals each coming from Marc-Antoine Fortune and Shaun Maloney.

After two matches of the season, Celtic currently sit atop the SPL ladder on goal difference, with two wins from two matches.

Celtic will be without midfielder Landry N'Guemo for the match.

Prediction

Arsenal enjoyed overall dominance over Celtic in their 2-0 win last week and although both goals came in rather fortunate circumstances, the Gunners deserved their victory and the two goal advantage coming into this match.


Gunners manager Arsene Wenger may choose to rest some key players ahead of Arsenal's crucial weekend fixture against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday, but the superiority of their squad and the home advantage should ensure that Arsenal progress past this tie with another likely win, or at the very least, a draw.

Arsenal vs Celtic Prediction: Arsenal 2—Celtic 1

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