With the start of the new Scottish Premiership season now just over a week away, Celtic conclude pre-season with a glamorous fixture at Parkhead. However, there is unlikely to be a crowd in attendance to reflect this. Last weekend against Middlesbrough, only around 5,000 Celts turned up, official figures have not been released, as protests continue against the board.
On the pitch, this will be a tough test for Martin O'Neill's team, so here is what you need to know ahead of the fixture.
Celtic vs AC Milan match info
- Date: Saturday 25 July.
- Kick off time: 3pm (BST).
- Competition: Pre-season friendly.
- Venue: Celtic Park.
- How to watch: Celtic Player.
How to watch Celtic vs AC Milan
This fixture is available to watch anywhere on earth via the newly-launched Celtic Player. It will also be live on beIN Sports Connect in Australia, DAZN in Belgium and Italy as well a Sky Sport Calcio.
Celtic vs AC Milan match preview
Fair to say, pre-season has not gone to play for Celtic so far, still searching for a first win, with this their final opportunity to claim one. A week ago, in front of an eerily empty Parkhead, the Hoops drew 1-1 with Middlesbrough. After the EFL Championship side had opened the scoring, new signing Camilo Durán slotted home an equaliser just five minutes later.
Before this, the Celts had required a stoppage time penalty from Shin Yamada to salvage a draw with Shelbourne, before being smashed 4-1 by Sporting CP at Estádio Algarve. Thus, all is not well in Glasgow's East End. News that O'Neill will remain as manager was met with a mixed reception, while Durán is the only new signing so far, leaving fans furious. Thus, with flag day against Dundee just nine days away, can Celtic secure a victory to create something resembling a sense of positivity?
As for AC Milan, they endured a nightmare end to last season. The Rossoneri were in a title race as late as March, but then lost six of their final ten Serie A matches, thereby finishing fifth, missing out on Champions League qualification. Thus, Massimiliano Allegri was swiftly sacked and replaced by former Manchester United manager Rúben Amorim.
This will be Amorim's first game in charge, so it is tough to know what to expect, well apart from a back three. After this, Milan will head down under to face city rivals Internazionale in Perth, before a meeting with Chelsea in Indonesia three days later. They conclude pre-season against, you guessed it, Amorim's old side Man United in Wrocław, before their Serie A campaign commences away at Torino on 23 August. Thus, will the Rossoneri add to Celtic's misery?
Celtic vs AC Milan head-to-head record
- Matches Played: 12.
- Celtic Wins: 1. Draws: 3. AC Milan Wins: 8.
Celtic team news vs AC Milan
Given that this is Celtic's final pre-season match, O'Neill will want to deploy an XI as similar to the one that will face Dundee next Monday night as possible. Amid strong transfer speculation, Daizen Maeda will not be involved while, for similar reasons, it'll be interesting to see if Reo Hatate and Arne Engels are involved.
Meantime, against all the doom and gloom, it was great to see Cameron Carter-Vickers back. He ruptured his ACL against Sturm Graz on 23 October and had not featured since, but lasted an hour against Middlesbrough, which is a major boost.
Lastly, none of Celtic's World Cup representatives have featured in pre-season yet. Now though, most are back, so will any of Alistair Johnston, Yang Hyun-jun, Auston Trusty, Kieran Tierney, Anthony Ralston, Benjamin Nygren or Sebastian Tounekti see some minutes?
- Celtic predicted XI vs AC Milan: Sinisalo; Donovan, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Murray; McGregor, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Engels; Forrest, McCowan, Durán.
AC Milan team news vs Celtic
As this is their first pre-season friendly of the summer, there is not a lot of AC Milan team news. American attacker Christian Pulisic suffered a microfracture and bone bruise of the tibia to his right leg during the USA's defeat to Belgium, so is set to spend several weeks on the sidelines.
Meantime, Milan's other World Cup representatives are not expected to feature. These are Mike Maignan, Pervis Estupiñán, Koni De Winter, Adrien Rabiot, Ardon Jashari, Luka Modrić, Rafael Leão, Alexis Saelemaekers and Santiago Giménez. Thus, Rúben Amorim has very limited options, albeit a strong lineup is likely to be deployed.
In terms of new signings, €74m new recruit Gonçalo Ramos is also on holiday, but other summer recruits Mario Gila and Francesco Camarda could feature in black and red stripes for the first time.
- AC Milan predicted XI vs Celtic: Terracciano; Pavlović, Tomori, Gila; Athekame Musah, Bennacer, Bartesaghi; Chukwueze, Loftus-Cheek, Nkunku.
Celtic vs AC Milan prediction
- Celtic 1-3 AC Milan.
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