Scottish Premier League champions Celtic FC will be hosting the English Premier League champs Leicester City in the 2016 International Champions Cup tournament at Celtic Park in Glasgow on Saturday, July 23rd. The 17-team International Champions Cup will be taking place at sites in China, the USA, Europe and Australia. Teams involved are Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, and FC Barcelona (Spain), Paris Saint-Germain (France), AC Milan, Juventus, and Inter Milan (Italy), FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Chelsea FC, Leicester City, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, and Liverpool FC (England), Celtic FC (Scotland) and Melbourne Victory of Australia. This is the first time Celtic and Leicester will be meeting each other.
Celtic FC vs Leicester City – Pinnacle Soccer Betting Line:
- bet365 currently lists Leicester as the close favorite to win at +131 with Celtic +227 and a draw at +250
Celtic FC– A Closer Look:
Celtic was founded back in 1887 and has won the Scottish League title a total of 47 times with the latest triumph being last season. The team has also won 36 Scottish Cups and 15 Scottish League Cups. In addition, they became the first British squad to win the European Cup when they achieved the feat in the 1966/67 campaign. They also won the league, Scottish Cup, Scottish League Cup and the Glasgow Cup that season. Celtic also made it to the European Cup Final in 1969/70 and the 2002/2003 UEFA Cup Final. The team is currently managed by Brendan Rodgers and captained by Scott Brown. Celtic topped the Scottish Premier League last season with 86 points from 26 wins, eight draws and just four defeats. They scored a league-high 93 goals and allowed a league-low 31 against. They finished the season 15 points ahead of runners-up Aberdeen. Celtic was embarrassed in their first European Champions qualifying match earlier this month when they were beaten 1-0 in Gibraltar by the Lincoln Red Imps. They managed to win their home leg 3-0 though on Wednesday.
Leicester City– A Closer Look:
Leicester City shocked the soccer world by winning the English Premier League last season after being listed as 500/1 long shots before the campaign kicked off. They accumulated 81 points on 23 victories, 12 draws and just three defeats. Leicester scored 68 goals last year and allowed 36 against. The team was founded back in 1884. Prior to winning the Premier League, the club’s best finish in England’s top flight was runners-up in 1928–29. However, they have won England’s second-tier title six times and a third-tier championship once. The club has also captured three League Cups and have been runners-up four times in the FA Cup and will be playing in the European Champions League for the first time this season. Leicester managed to hold onto the Premier League’s top scorer of 2015/16 as English international striker Jamie Vardy turned down a move to Arsenal. However manager Claudio Ranieri did lose N’Golo Kante to Chelsea while captain Wes Morgan signed a contract extension. The club also signed Ahmed Musa, Ron-Robert Zieler, Nampalys Mendy and Luis Hernandez. This is Leicester’s second preseason game as they downed Oxford United 2-1 on the road in their first outing, but Vardy won’t play as he rests following Euro 2016.
Celtic FC vs Leicester City – Takeaway:
Celtic and Leicester are using this tournament as a warm up to a big season in which they’ll attempt to defend their respective Premier League titles and prepare for the European Champions League.
by Ian S. Palmer