JK Nomme Kalju vs Celtic Predictions

To be quite honest, after running out 5-0 winners in the first leg, Celtic could do without this game, though the Scottish side can treat it as another warm-up match ahead of the soon-to-start domestic campaign.

As expected, Celtic got the job done with the minimum of fuss a week ago, as they notched five, conceded none and generally outclassed inferior opposition. Going forward, they had lots to say, as they registered 29 shots, 15 of which hit the target, while they posted a pleasing 3.42 expected goals for. In contrast, they conceded just three shots, none of which hit the target, and just 0.18 expected goals for.

After last week’s disappointment, Estonian side Kalju will be hoping to do better, though it’s easy to see them struggling again. Not only were they very poor last week, but they also lost at home during the previous round. On that occasion, the Estonians were beaten 0-1 by Albanian outfit Shkendija.

Quite simply, the fact that Kalju lost at home to Shkendija doesn’t bode well, though their performance on that occasion is what is really worrying. Despite playing at home against reasonably weak opposition, Tuesday’s hosts offered very little, as they registered just three shots, one of which hit the target and posted a measly 0.05 expected goals for. Such an efforts doesn’t suggest that they’ll make much headway against Celtic.

The best that Kalju can now hope for now is to avoid a second battering, which given that the visitors are in almost no danger of failing to go through, they may just do.

From a betting point of view, ‘Under 3.5 Goals’ catches the eye. Celtic may well destroy their opponents for the second time in quick succession, though given the aggregate score-line, it’s highly likely that Neil Lennon will rest key players. Add in the fact that the hosts seem incapable of posing a threat, coupled with the fact that less than four goals have been scored in three of Celtic’s four away qualifiers since 2018 and a relatively low-scoring game starts to look slightly more likely than the current odds suggest.