It is safe to say that Real Madrid will be the heavy favourites when they face Celtic in their opening game of their Champions League campaign. Los Blancos have at least twice as many titles as any other team in the history of the competition with 14, and are the defending champions as well. On the other hand, the Hoops are making their return to Europe’s elite stage after a gap of many years.
Real Madrid being the favourites does not mean that Celtic should be completely ruled out though. Not by a long shot. They got a dominant 4-0 win over the Rangers this weekend.
The same Rangers side managed to qualify for the Champions League by beating PSV and also hold wins over the likes of Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig in recent times, and they even made the Europa League final last season. So dominating them, in the manner that Ange Postecoglou’s side did, is not a matter of joke.
On the other hand, there might be weaknesses in Real Madrid’s game that they could potentially exploit. As reported by Marca, Carlo Ancelotti said after the club’s 2-1 win over Real Betis:
"“We have to take into account the goals conceded, today’s was a pretty serious mistake, they caught us inattentive on a throw-in . We have to improve these little situations, that’s true.”"
Celtic could exploit Real Madrid weakness when they meet in the Champions League
Celtic did manage to get the better of the Rangers in similar situations and find the back of the net in the Glasgow Derby.
On the other hand, Real Madrid have not looked the strongest defensively this season, despite having some huge names there, and have conceded in every game till now.
Thus, there could be a window of opportunity there for Celtic. One major worry for them though is the injury that Kyogo picked up against the Rangers, and the Japanese is expected to miss the game against Real Madrid.
Kyogo helps in the fluidity of the team going forward and his incredible movement and positioning could have posed a serious threat to the Real Madrid defence, who do switch off at times.