Preview: Estrela Amadora vs Celtic - prediction, team news, lineups

Taking their pre-season preparations to Portugal, Celtic lock horns with Primeira Liga outfit Estrela Amadora at Benfica Academy on Saturday morning in a friendly clash.

The Bhoys have a 100% record across their warm-up matches for the 2025-26 season so far, whilst the Tricolours are commencing their schedule this weekend against the Scottish giants.

Match preview

After earning promotion to the top table of Portuguese football courtesy of a playoff win at the end of the 2022-23 campaign, Estrela Amadora have fought tooth and nail to retain their coveted spot in the Primeira Liga over the past two years.

The Tricolours have managed to be successful in that quest on both occasions as they prepare for a third straight term amongst their country's big players, finishing one point and two points above the danger zone in 2023-24 and 2024-25 respectively.

Planning a stress-free term this time around after 24 months of relegation battles, Estrela will be looking to address their lack of potency in front of goal during pre-season, with the Portuguese outfit netting just 24 goals across 34 Primeira Liga matches last term - the joint-lowest in the 18-team division.

Ze Augusto's troops kick-start their friendly calendar with a clash against Celtic this weekend after a woeful conclusion to competitive action during the 2024-25 season, when the Tricolours lost five of their last six matches, scoring on just two occasions.

That being said, Estrela have shown their ability to conquer a Champions League-competing side in recent times, with goals from leading marksman Kikas and Alan Ruiz securing a shock two-strike success over Porto at Estadio Jose Gomes in late April.

Cantering to the Scottish Premiership title under Brendan Rodgers last season - finishing a mammoth 17 points ahead of arch rivals Rangers - Saturday's visitors Celtic are gearing up for another campaign in which retention of the domestic crown will be viewed as a minimum requirement.

The Bhoys started their pre-season preparations at the beginning of this month with a 1-0 victory over Scottish Championship side Queen's Park courtesy of a first-half strike from Johnny Kenny at The City Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland.

Taking their talents to the second country of four planned for the off-season, Celtic travelled to League of Ireland Premier outfit Cork City on Tuesday night, when goals from Luke McCowan and Colby Donovan allowed the visitors to lift the Cork Super Cup.

Following the departure of Japan international Kyogo Furuhashi to Rennes for £10m during the January transfer window, the 30-year-old's compatriot Daizen Maeda stepped up to the goalscoring plate for the Bhoys and ended up netting a sensational 33 goals across all competitions last season.

Saturday morning will see the Bhoys take to the field against Portuguese opposition for the 26th time, with Celtic winning 12 and losing nine of their previous 25 meetings, although there have been no previous encounters with Estrela. 

Celtic friendly form: W

Team News

Estrela Amadora have a number of summer arrivals who could make their debuts this weekend, including former Sporting Lisbon goalkeeper Diogo Pinto.

Aiming to address their aforementioned issues at the top end of the pitch, right-winger Jorge Meireles has been recruited from the academy of Porto.

Back at Celtic following his departure from Premier League challengers Arsenal, Kieran Tierney is likely to feature on Saturday morning.

A recent addition from Danish side Nordsjaelland, Benjamin Nygren is in line to make his debut for the Bhoys in Portugal.

Looking to eventually replace Kasper Schmeichel in net for Celtic, Ross Doohan has signed for the Glasgow club following an impressive spell at Aberdeen.

Estrela Amadora possible starting lineup:

Pinto; Lopes, Pantalon, Drame, Varela; Idrissi, Cordeiro, Moreira; Cabral, Ruiz, Kikas

Celtic possible starting lineup:

Sinisalo; Trusty, McCowan, Kenny, Inamura; Engels, Summers, McGregor, Murray, Forrest; Donovan

We say: Estrela Amadora 1-2 Celtic

Plying their trade in the top tier of Portugal, Estrela Amadora represent an undoubtable step-up in quality compared to Celtic's pre-season opponents so far.

However, the Bhoys are further down their summer plans and should be able to pick up a third straight victory this weekend.

Written by
Carter White

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