Thursday 22nd August 1800hrs FK Suduva v Celtic Football – Europe – Europa League We’ve now reached the final qualifying round in the Europa League as 22 teams compete in the playoff stage. Two teams who have dropped out of Champions League qualifying meet on Thursday as the Lithuanian champions clash with their Scottish counterparts. It’s the first time the two have met since 2002/03 when Celtic ran out 10-1 winners on aggregate. Then managed by Martin O’Neill, the Glasgow club went on to reach the final of the UEFA Cup. That was the first game en route to Seville and they had even fallen out of Champions League qualification that year as well. Could history repeat itself? Continue reading for a match preview of Suduva against Celtic and a selected best betting tip.
Suduva had one of their best ever results in European football when getting the better of Cypriot champs APOEL Nicosia in the first round of Champions League qualification. It was a remarkable result for the Lithuanian minnows considering their opponents have reached the group stage of that competition and also the knockout stages of the Europa League. Their participation in the Champions League came to an end at the second attempt, though, having been well beaten by Serbs Crvena Zvezda. That meant dropping into the Europa League and they have managed to get to within one tie of reaching the group stage for the first time in their history. A win over the Latvian team Spartaks Jurmala by a 1-0 score line on aggregate has given them hopes of doing something they probably thought was beyond them when starting out in July. Suduva are riding high once again in their domestic league and on course to win what would be only their second ever league title, so will be full of confidence ahead of Celtic’s visit.
Celtic crashed out of the Champions League last week and for the first time under Brendan Rodgers will not play in the group stages of Europe’s premier club competition. The immediate disappointment of that failure is obvious and is currently being felt by all at the club, but what effect it has moving forward remains to be seen. It will undoubtedly mean less income for the club this season which could mean a big name being sold and it could also unsettle some of the squad who have ambitions of playing at the highest level. The performances against AEK Athens were okay in the main, other than some deplorable defending which they ultimately paid the price for. The defence has been an issue for the Hoops for a number of months and the fact that no suitable reinforcements have been brought in has only illustrated the problem further this past month. Rodgers men got back on track somewhat on Saturday by beating Partick Thistle 3-1 in the cup but even then they had a scare with some shambolic defending allowing Thistle to equalise. They’ll be favourites for this one against a Lithuanian team but nothing should be taken for granted with the form Celtic are currently in.
FK Suduva v Celtic Betting Tip
It may not be the competition that Celtic wanted to be competing in this week, but they do want European football at least until Christmas so it remains a hugely important game for Rodgers and his players and one they have to win. Suduva have done very well to reach this stage and have already surpassed expectations with the wins they have accumulated in this year’s Europa League qualifying. They’ll hope to be much more competitive than they were 15 years ago when easily brushed aside by Celtic and they have good reason to believe they will be. Celtic are going through something of a difficult period at the moment and their problems in defence are there for all to see. The hosts have to make it as difficult as possible for the Scottish champions and unsettle them from the start. You have to think that for Suduva to have any sort of chance of going through then a win on Thursday is their best hope. This is several levels up of anything they have faced thus far but the win over APOEL – another regular competitor in the group stages of European tournaments – shows they can raise their game.
As awkward as it’s been for Celtic so far in August, they still possess plenty of quality in the attacking areas and with Dembele returning to fitness there is a noticeable increased threat. When they had to on Saturday, the Hoops raised their game and played at a much higher tempo. That’s the key to this team and I believe they’ll look to assert their authority early on in Thursday’s game. Take the Celts to win comfortably and put one foot in the group stages.
Selection: Celtic HT/FT 6/5 @ Ladbrokes
