Rosenborg vs Celtic Predictions

Celtic got a massive win last time out over German giants Leipzig, but can they keep this going in their away trip to Trondheim?

Few expected Celtic to do so well against Leipzig at Parkhead but they really stunned the Germans with two quality goals. The first coming from Kieran Tierney after he fired home a James Forrest cross and the second from Odsonne Edouard who got on the end of a fantastic team move just a minute after Leipzig equalised. A loss in this match could have meant the end of the road for the Hoops but they showed their steel in a massive win, one that they will surely be trying to replicate against Rosenborg.

They have remained unbeaten since then with a win and a loss in what were two tricky games. Livingston have been lauded for their excellent defence this season and they put in a fantastic performance against Celtic, holding them to a 0-0 draw. Hamilton aren’t as defensively sound but really frustrated Celtic with a very negative approach for most of the game. Still, Celtic managed to squeeze three past them in a game which they never really left second gear. Both of these games were on artificial pitches which made it tough for Celtic, but they will be back on grass for this one at the Lerkendal Stadion in Trondheim. Celtic beat Rosenborg 1-0 when they met in Glasgow a few months ago and they will be hoping for another massive victory.

Rosenborg have also been in solid form recently but have had three awkward results in their past few games, which could possibly scupper their confidence ahead of this game. They had been on a three-game winning streak before they hosted Salzburg in the Europa League on the 8th of November. They lost 5-2 to the Austrians and this result has slightly knocked their confidence, as they haven’t been exemplary in their two games since.

A 1-0 win over the league’s second bottom side Start wasn’t exactly the dominating performance you would expect from Rosenborg and this was followed by their most recent result, which ended in a 1-1 draw against 11th placed Bodo. Rosenborg haven’t looked themselves in recent weeks and the international break appeared to have no effect on their lacklustre performances. Rosenborg have generally been pretty formidable this season as they sit on top of the Eliteserien but these last few matches have left a lot to be desired. They are also still to get a point in the Europa League so Celtic should be pretty confident ahead of this one.

Rosenborg have only won two of their last six home matches while Celtic have won four of their last six on the road, scoring 17 in the process. Celtic also managed to get the win over Rosenborg at Parkhead a few months ago when the Norwegians were in much better form, so this fixture could go in the Hoops’ favour as Rosenborg have disappointed in their last three games. Rosenborg have scored in each of their last six games so we expect them to get on the score-sheet but ultimately this in-form Celtic side should get the win here, therefore we’re backing 2-1 to the Bhoys.