A penny for the internal thoughts of Brendan Rodgers’ after learning Celtic’s Champions League Group E opponents. As a manager, the Northern Irishman had to be diplomatic when reacting to the draw, but he was perhaps somewhat pleased when seeing Feyenoord, Atletico Madrid and Lazio coming out of the proverbial hat to face The Bhoys. The draw looks tough, featuring three teams with undoubted European pedigree. Then again, one might argue that the names are much bigger than the current stature of the teams.
Of course, that is not to say it won’t be difficult for Rodgers and Celtic. As it stands, Celtic are the outsiders at 10/1 in the Champions League betting to win Group E. Madrid are odds-on favourites, with Lazio slightly behind. As Dutch champions, Feyenoord should not be ruled out. Nonetheless, Celtic should be confident of upsetting the odds, with home form particularly important. Below is a quick rundown of the three teams, highlighting strengths and weaknesses:
Feyenoord
Feyenoord were seeded in Pot 1 due to being Dutch champions. Arguably, they were the weakest side among the top seeds. That’s not to say the Rotterdam-based side isn’t a talented team: They lost just two games last season as they powered to the title, finishing comfortably ahead of Ajax. They have also added several new players in the transfer market. A blow, however, comes in the loss of Orkun Kocku. The Turkish midfielder has shades of a young Roy Keane, a box-to-box terrier with an eye for goal. He was named Dutch Footballer of the Year, but he agreed on a transfer to Benfica in the summer. He will be missed. Feyenoord used the £22 million transfer fee to strengthen, including midfielders Calvin Stengs and Ramiz Zerrouki. Inexperience is a particular issue for Feyenoord, who have one of the youngest teams in this year’s Champions League.
Atletico Madrid
The polar opposite of Feyenoord, one word sums up Atletico Madrid – experience. The average age of the first team squad is 28.2 years, which is much higher than Celtic (25.1) and a very youthful Feyenoord team (23.5). The likes of Griezmann, Morata, Savic, and Koke are all in their 30s and know what it takes to grind their way through a Champions League campaign. The current Atletico are arguably a bit looser than one expects with Diego Simeone teams. They’ll score more, with Memphis Depay looking particularly sharp alongside the evergreen Griezmann, but they will also concede more. The meeting at Celtic Park should be a cracker. And while Atletico have started the season well, Celtic can make life difficult for them.
Lazio
Lazio did well to finish in the Champions League spots last season, although they were helped by a weak set of rivals (Napoli excepted) in Serie A. I Biancocelesti have had a fairly rotten start to the new campaign, looking particularly limp in opening defeats to Genoa and Lecce. Coach Maurizio Sarri could quickly find himself under pressure, as could main man and club legend Ciro Immobile. Lazio have ammunition and are better than the early season has shown, with an early season win over Napoli showing what they can do, but they are beatable. It’s worth noting that Lazio’s away record in Europe is particularly terrible. They last won an away game in the Champions League proper back in 2003/04. Celtic should be considered favourites when they meet the Italians in Glasgow.