Salzburg v Celtic: Home strength to see Bhoys beaten in Austria

Celtic begin their Europa League campaign with their toughest assignment in a thorny-looking Group D by travelling to Salzburg and it’s unlikely they’ll get much change from the Austrian champions.

Group D favourites Salzburg are afforded odds of 4/9 on the win, while the draw is a 7/2 chance and a Celtic victory the outsider at 11/2.

Here’s three profit-hunting ways we’d place our pennies on the contest:

Salzburg to win @ 4/9

Not the way some Celtic fans will see it, but the Bhoys have been poor in Europe so far in the early Champions League qualifiers, going down 4-1 and 2-0 to Legia Warsaw, before failing to take the lifeline offered over two legs against Maribor.

Although the Hoops managed a draw at Maribor, they’ve since lost on the road at Inverness CT and drawn at Dundee, while Salzburg are super strong at home.

The Austrians have won five of six home matches this season and seven of their last eight European ties at the Red Bull Arena.

Salzburg to score 2/3 goals @ evens

The Austrian champions took the title by 18 points last season and they are certainly not shy in front of the onion bag.

So far this season Die Roten Bullen have averaged a whopping 4.5 goals over six home games, suggesting Craig Gordon may be in for a busy night.

Jonathan Soriano first goalscorer @ 3/1

Salzburg’s main weapon in attack is their skipper and prolific centre-forward Soriano, who has racked up goals like their going out of fashion since moving from Barcelona in 2012.

The 28-year-old’s ratio is very close to a goal every game for the Red Bull sponsored side and has already hit 11 goals in just seven outings this season.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.