LASK Linz – Celtic Preview – can LASK save face in Linz?
Celtic strolled to a three-nil win at Celtic Park last week, and this LASK Linz vs Celtic betting tips preview starts from an honest place: the Champions League play-off tie is barely a contest anymore. LASK need three unanswered goals just to drag this into extra time at the Raiffeisen Arena, and nothing in their recent form suggests they can find that against a Celtic side finishing so cleanly.
Kick-off in Linz is at 19:00 GMT on Tuesday 25 August. Celtic are favourites to see the tie out, not because of anything specific to this second leg on its own, but because they have already done the hard part in Glasgow. Treat the aggregate scoreline as settled and look instead at the ninety minutes ahead: that is where the real betting interest sits.
LASK Linz – Celtic Betting Tips
With the tie already decided in all but name, the value is in how this particular match unfolds rather than who lifts the aggregate.
Betting Tip: Both teams to score
LASK have nothing left to lose and a home crowd to play for, so expect them to commit men forward from kick-off rather than accept the arithmetic and sit back. Celtic have shown all season, and again in the first leg, that they punish space the moment it opens up, and a LASK side chasing the game will hand them exactly that. Both teams to score fits a night where LASK need goals to save face and Celtic have little reason to shut up shop themselves.
Betting Tip: Double chance LASK Linz or draw
This tip is about the ninety minutes in Linz, not the tie as a whole. Celtic already have a three-goal aggregate lead banked, and that changes the incentives completely: there is no real upside in going all out for another rout when squad management matters more than the margin. LASK, meanwhile, have every reason to throw everything at a home game they can still win or draw on the night. Double chance: LASK Linz or draw covers the most likely outcomes of a leg Celtic can afford to take carefully. Run through the team news before kick-off, then check the latest match odds to see how the market is shaping up.
What LASK still have to play for
None of that history explains why LASK arrive at this stage unbeaten in twelve matches across all competitions, with eight straight wins before the first leg interrupted that run. This is also the first competitive meeting between the two clubs, so there is no head-to-head to lean on, only what happened last week. LASK were already without Art Smakaj and Ramiz Harakate in Glasgow, yet Camilo Duran’s brace either side of Benjamin Nygren’s opener settled matters inside an hour with barely a reply. If you caught our breakdown of the first leg in Glasgow, you will know Celtic’s front line did not need asking twice.
Celtic have their own gaps to manage. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is suspended for both legs, Jota is out long-term with a cruciate injury, and Alistair Johnston missed the first leg with a hamstring problem. None of that stopped Celtic playing with real control in Scotland, but a fired-up home crowd and a tighter pitch in Linz are a different proposition to see out for a full ninety minutes, even with a three-goal cushion in the bank.
The realistic shape of the night
Do not expect Celtic to chase another three goals. There is far more sense in managing the game than running up the score against a wounded but still dangerous LASK side playing for pride in front of their own fans. A tighter match than the first leg, with LASK finding the net at least once and Celtic doing just enough to close it out, looks like the most likely version of this second leg.
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