Contents
- Competition: Champions League qualification
- Date: Wednesday, 20th August 2025
- Kickoff: 20:00 UK / 21:00 CEST
- Venue: Celtic Park (Glasgow)
Only one step left in the Champions League qualifications. On Tuesday night in Glasgow, Celtic will host Kairat Almaty. Both teams hope to make a significant step toward the most elite European competition, but realistically, Celtic should have significantly bigger chances. Does Kairat Almaty have any chances to progress to the Champions League for the first team in the club's history? Let's break down the matchup and find the best possible betting option.
Celtic team overview
Celtic endured a few years without Champions League football, but they are now on a promising run with three consecutive appearances. Failing against Kairat Almaty would be a major setback, costing them yet another chance to compete among Europe's elite. Last year, Celtic played well in the Champions League, as they even progressed to the knockout phase, but they stumbled there on the first step against Bayern Munich.
Celtic have made an excellent start to the 2025/26 season, winning all three of their opening matches. In their most recent outing, Brendan Rodgers' side cruised to a 4-1 victory over Falkirk in the League Cup. Despite rotating the lineup, the hosts were in full control throughout, leaving their opponents with little opportunity to threaten. A victory like that will give Celtic a lot of confidence ahead of the game against Kairat Almaty.
Celtic have almost a full squad available. It seems that only Jota will miss the upcoming tie against Kairat Almaty.
Last matches of
-
Celtic
4 : 1
Falkirk
League Cup
-
Aberdeen
0 : 2
Celtic
Premiership
-
Celtic
1 : 0
St. Mirren
Premiership
-
Ajax
5 : 1
Celtic
Club Friendlies 1
-
Celtic
4 : 0
Newcastle United
Club Friendlies 3
lineup
Goalkeeper
-
1
Kasper Schmeichel
Defenders
-
2
Alistair Johnston
-
20
Cameron Carter-Vickers
-
5
Liam Scales
-
63
Kieran Tierney
Midfielders
-
8
Benjamin Nygren
-
42
Callum McGregor
-
41
Reo Hatate
Forwards
-
49
James Forrest
-
9
Adam Idah
-
38
Daizen Maeda
Kairat Almaty team overview
Kairat Almaty have already surpassed three opponents in the Champions League qualifications this summer (Olimpija Ljubljana, KuPS, and Slovan Bratislava). The Kazakhstani champions face the toughest task they have ahead of them, but they dream about beating Celtic, too, and progressing to the most elite football competition for the first time in the club's history. Kairat's only appearance in any European competition was in the 2021/22 season in the Conference League.
Kairat Almaty are locked in a tight title race with Astana this season. The defending champions currently hold a three-point lead, though they have played two games more. Kairat had been enjoying a strong run of form in recent weeks, but that momentum was abruptly halted with a shocking 3-2 home defeat to Yelimay Semey. Head coach Rafael Urazbakhtin opted to rest several key players for the match, yet the loss remains a major surprise.
Kairat Almaty's head coach, Rafael Urazbakhtin, was very confident after his team knocked out Slovan in Bratislava after penalties in the previous Champions League qualification round. He said, "I told the players they must remember this happy moment. We are making history. I urged them to keep their hunger and preserve it for the next round. We now have a great chance of making some noise in Europe." One weaker result in the Kazakhstani league shouldn't ruin everything they built in the previous months, so Kairat will probably travel to Glasgow with a lot of belief in themself.
Last matches of
-
Kairat Almaty
2 : 3
Yelimay Semey
Premier League
-
Slovan Bratislava
3 : 4
Kairat Almaty
Champions League
-
Kairat Almaty
1 : 0
Slovan Bratislava
Champions League
-
Kairat Almaty
1 : 0
Ulytau
Premier League
-
Kairat Almaty
3 : 0
KuPS
Champions League
lineup
Goalkeeper
-
1
Aleksandr Zarutskiy
Defenders
-
20
Erkin Tapalov
-
14
Aleksandr Martynovich
-
80
Egor Sorokin
-
3
Luis Mata
Midfielders
-
55
Valeriy Gromyko
-
15
Ofri Arad
-
18
Dan Glazer
-
7
Jorginho
Forwards
-
9
Dastan Satpaev
-
26
Edmilson
Prediction
Kairat Almaty surprised everyone by reaching the playoff round. However, the biggest test is ahead of them. The Kazakhstani team had problems on the road in the Champions League qualifications this summer (two defeats and one draw). On the other hand, the Celtics look excellent. We should expect the Scottish giant to win and cover AH -2 spread in the upcoming tie.
3 Reasons why Celtic should win and cover AH -2 spread
- Celtic won all three games in the new season
- Celtic allowed only one goal in three games in the 2025/26 season
- Kairat Almaty are without a victory in three road matches in the Champions League qualifications
Main prediction -
AH1 (-2)
Best Odds: