Celtic v Kairat: Back the man from Japan to find the net

• Celtic have won all three competitive games this term

• Kairat have got this far against the odds, but lack pedigree

• Maeda goal an attractive play at 2.26/5

Celtic v Kairat
Wednesday 20 August, 20:00
Live on TNT Sports 1

Celtic are a couple of good results away from a return to the promised land of the Champions League's league phase, and having qualified for the knockout rounds last term, they'll hope to at least emulate that achievement. Given that they'll face Kazakh side Kairat Almaty, there's every reason to think Scotland will have at least one representative in the competition proper.

Brendan Rodgers' men have made a perfect start to the campaign. They have won both of their league games without conceding a goal, and they swept aside Falkirk 4-1 in the League Cup.

Kairat have already come through three rounds of qualifying, beating Olimpija Ljubljana, KuPS and Slovan Bratislava. Significantly for our purposes, they didn't win any of the three away legs, drawing in Slovenia and losing in both Finland and Slovakia.

This is a significant leap for a Kairat team that isn't even the strongest in their own country, and I suspect Celtic will want to effectively wrap this tie up in the first leg, with a long trip to Kazakhstan on the horizon. With the hosts a prohibitive 1.152/13 to win the game, we have to look way beyond the 1 x 2, and I like the idea of backing Japanese speedster Daizen Maeda to score at a generous 2.26/5 on the Betfair Exchange.

Maeda netted in the win over Falkirk, he scored a staggering 34 goals for club and country last season, and he played well in the Champions League. The 27-year-old scored four times in the competition last term, including a goal against mighty Bayern Munich.

Kairat have never been this far in the competition, and securing a minimum of Europa League football is already a big achievement. It's hard to see them keeping up with Celtic here, and Maeda can lead the charge.

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