Celtic will break from the Champions League qualifying action for a pre-season friendly action against West Ham United on Saturday at the Celtic Park with kickoff at 17:00.
Celtic head into the match off the back of a 1-1 draw to FC Midtjylland in the first leg of the second qualifying round of Champion League on Tuesday. Celtic’s attacker Liel Abada opened the scoring in the first half for the hosts before Midtjylland’s mid Evander equalized for the visitors in the second half.
Celtic under new management of Ange Postecoglu who arrived this summer saw his team start off their pre-season well with a 3-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday in their first pre-season friendly then proceeded to win 2-1 over Charlton Athletic in their following match. However, Postecoglu’s side brief winning streak in the pre-season was brought to an end when they played out a 0-0 draw with Bristol City before falling to a 1-0 defeat to Preston North End.
The Bhoys will now play their final pre-season match against West Ham a game in which they will aim at building confidence with a positive result heading into a crucial continental fixture. They will take on Midtjylland on Wednesday in the second leg before commencing their Scottish Premiership campaign.
Meanwhile, West Ham finished in the sixth position last season earning the Europa League football and now will be aiming to again finish well inside the top half again this time around.
The Hammers have already been involved in four pre-season friendlies so far as they continue to prepare for the next Premier League campaign. They started off their pre-season with a 2-2 draw against Dundee in Scotland before recording a 2-1 win over Northampton Town but that was followed by another draw of 0-0 with Leyton Orient. However, West Ham will head into the Saturday’s clash off the back of a 3-0 win over Reading in their recent friendly which should give them plenty of confidence to record another positive result against the Scottish tough opponents.
David Moyes’ side will take on Atalanta in their next and final pre-season friendly before opening their 2021-22 campaign at Newcastle on August 15.
Celtic vs West Ham head to head
This will be the head to head meeting between the two sides.
Home
- Celtic 1-1 Midtjylland
- Celtic 0-1 Preston North End
- Bristol City 0-0 Celtic
- Charlton Athletic 1-2 Celtic
- Sheffield Wednesday 1-3 Celtic
Away
- Reading 0-3 West Ham
- Leyton Orient 0-0 West Ham
- Northampton Town 1-2 West Ham
- Dundee FC 2-2 West Ham
- West Ham 3-0 Southampton
Celtic team news
Following their second leg looming on Wednesday, Celtic may choose to rest their key players with Nir Bitton expected to start since he will the Wednesday’s clash due to suspension.
West Ham team news
West Ham will only have Declan Rice missing the match due to his involvement in the Euros final. Everyone else will be available for the clash with many expecting to see a strong squad as it was in the last friendly.
Prediction and odds
- West Ham win
- Both teams to score
- Goals over 2.5
