Celtic Vs Lille
Celtic Vs Lille Thursday 10th December 2020 – 20:00 (kick-off)
UEFA Europa League Group H
Pick: Over 2.5 Goals & Both Teams to Score
Odds: 4/5
Bookmaker: Boylesports
(All betting odds correct at time of writing: 8th December 2020)
Preview: Whereas the Round of 32 draw beckons for Lille, for Celtic this will be their last taste of group stage football on the continent until next season at the earliest. With their final fixture at Celtic Park, can the Scottish Premier League champions ensure a positive end to a disappointing Group H campaign?
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Table of Contents
Celtic Preview – SPL side playing for little more than pride?
A miserable European campaign, easily one of their worst in recent memory, will finally come to an end for Neil Lennon and Celtic (4 – W0 D1 L4), but not before hosting the team currently top of their group. A return of one point from five matches is at least five less than any of their rivals in Group H and significantly down on last season’s total, when topping a section which also included a club from each of France and Italy.
Last week Celtic were losing 4-2 to Serie A leaders AC Milan, this despite taking a 2-0 lead inside the opening fifteen minutes of the San Siro contest, while Thursday sees them entertain a Lille outfit currently stalking the Ligue 1 leaders in France. Not the easiest set of farewell fixtures, then, for the Scottish Premier League champions, who have looked woefully out of their depth in the competition this term.
With a total of 17 goals conceded across five group games already, no team in the competition is averaging more goals allowed per game (3.4) than Neil Lennon’s men, who have conceded at least three times in all but one match-up thus far – the only exception being the 2-2 draw on Matchday 2 over in France with Lille. Celtic, to their credit I suppose, have, at least, netted themselves in all five fixtures.
Lille Preview – Les Douges still with something to play for?
The club from northern France had endured a wretched spell in European competition prior to embarking on their fourth group stage campaign in the Europa League this season, with a 17-game barren streak without winning in Europe directly preceding their 4-1 thrashing of Sparta Prague in the Czech Republic on Matchday 1. They have since gone on to collect enough points to currently top Group H, one clear of AC Milan.
Lille (1 – W3 D2 L0) will finish top of the section with either three points in Scotland or should they avoid defeat and AC Milan not prevail away in Prague. With some potentially tricky opponents dropping down from the Champions League – a competition the French side performed poorly in last term when unable to claim a single victory to finish last in their group – into the draw for the Round of 32, acquiring that seeded berth could prove crucial.
Christophe Galtier’s men boast a perfect record away from home so far, having beaten both Sparta Prague and AC Milan (0-3) by exactly three goals, and are short odds to register what would be their third successive away win in the competition. It is perhaps worth remembering, however, that Les Douges were winless in eight (D2 L6) on the road in Europe prior to this season.
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Celtic Vs Lille Betting Advice
Bottom of the group and among eight teams still searching for their first win of this stage, Celtic have one final opportunity to conclude an underwhelming campaign in Europe by beating Lille at Celtic Park. The latter, though, while already assured of their place in the next round, can still finish in either first or second and so arrive in Scotland in determined mood as they target their third successive away win.
Celtic Vs Lille – Key Facts:
- Among eight sides still without a win in this season’s Europa League group stage, Celtic (D1 L4) have seen Over 2.5 Goals and Both Teams to Score land in all five group games.
- Guaranteed to finish no lower than second in the group, Lille (W3 D2) have netted seven times across their two away matches so far but have only kept one clean sheet so far.
- The first meeting between the clubs took place on 29 October, as Celtic‘s 2-0 half-time lead disintegrated in the second period as Lille fought back to claim a 2-2 draw.
Lille boast two wins from two away games so far and were the better side when they welcomed Celtic to the Stade Pierre Mauroy, despite only mustering a 2-2 draw on that occasion. So the visitors seem a fair price all things considered, particularly with the opposition in disarray. Yet the Scottish side have had a useful habit of scoring, doing so in all five group games, and can once again frustrate their French adversaries.
Best Betting Odds – Celtic Vs Lille
Celtic – 11/5 (888sport)
Draw – 21/10 (Betway)
Lille – 6/5 (PaddyPower)
