Man City vs Celtic prediction: Citizens’ pre-season preparations get underway
Manchester City get their pre-season preparations underway with a friendly against Scottish champions Celtic on Wednesday at 12:30am (UK time).
Man City vs Celtic prediction: Citizens’s pre-season preparations get underway
Man City vs Celtic latest prediction
Man City are just three weeks away from the start of their 2024/25 campaign, and they’re about to play their first pre-season match. While the Premier League starts for Man City on 18th August against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Pep Guardiola’s side have the Community Shield against Manchester United one weekend earlier.
So it’s perhaps not ideal preparation for Man City that they must first have a four-game tour of the United States, which starts this week. The defending champions open their pre-season tour against Celtic before facing AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea — yes, they play Chelsea in a friendly 15 days before facing off in the Premier League.
Celtic are just two weeks away from the start of their season, opening their Scottish Premiership defence on 4th August against Kilmarnock. Given their early start, Celtic have already played three pre-season friendlies, with two coming against Scottish sides.
First, they drew 1-1 with Ayr at the start of July, before beating Queen’s Park 6-4. They have since travelled over to the United States, as part of a three-game tour. Celtic opened the tour with a 4-0 thrashing on MLS side DC United. They face Man City next before rounding off against Chelsea.
Man City take on Celtic at the Kenan Memorial Stadium in North Carolina on Wednesday at 12:30 (UK time).
Given the team we expect Man City to field, and where these two sides are in their pre-seasons, we could see goals. Some pre-season friendlies are full of goals, and Celtic haven’t been an exception this summer. Their past two games have seen a total of 14 goals scored, including the 4-0 win over DC United since they arrived in the US.
Man City latest team news
Man City will be without a number of first-team players who were at Euro 2024 or Copa America in the summer. These include the likes of Rodri, Kyle Walker, Phil Foden and John Stones, all of whom were in the Euro 2024 final.
However, they still boast the likes of Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish, Oscar Bobb and Ederson. The latter will likely feature despite doubts surrounding his future.
Celtic latest team news
Celtic do have some of their international stars back, with the likes of James Forrest, Callum McGregor, Greg Taylor and Anthony Ralston all available. New signing Kasper Schmeichel is yet to link up with the Bhoys, having reached the knockout stages of Euro 2024 with Denmark.
Man City vs Celtic head-to-head
This is just a friendly, and it’s been a while since Celtic and Man City faced off in competitive action. The two sides met in the 2016/17 Champions League group stage, with two draws.
| Man City vs Celtic H2H | |||||||
| Date | Score | Ground | |||||
| 06/12/24 | Man City 1-1 Celtic | Etihad Stadium, Manchester | |||||
| 28/09/16 | Celtic 3-3 Man City | Celtic Park, Glasgow | |||||
How to watch Man City vs Celtic live
Man City vs Celtic takes place on Wednesday at 12:30am (UK time) and will be broadcast live on CITY+ and Celtic TV.
