Europa League: Celtic vs. Utrecht
Venue: Celtic Park, Glasgow Date: Thursday, January 28 Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio Scotland; live text updates available on the BBC Sport website and app.
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Celtic couldn’t have asked for a better final fixture, needing a win to extend their Europa League journey.
Utrecht, on the other hand, is facing significant struggles, having already been eliminated from this tournament.
Currently sitting third from the bottom in the Europa League standings, they have yet to secure a win, claiming just one point from seven matches, though they did manage to earn that against Portuguese league leaders Porto.
After finishing fourth in their domestic league last season, they now find themselves in 11th place, seven points behind the final European play-off position in the Eredivisie.
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Ron Jans’ team has suffered five consecutive defeats across all competitions, including a loss to Genk at home last week during matchday seven.
They were also eliminated from the Dutch Cup earlier this month and have been struggling to find any consistency in their league performances.
Recent signing Jesper Karlsson, formerly of Aberdeen, made his starting debut against Sparta Rotterdam last weekend but is ineligible for the Glasgow trip after his recall by Bologna. Another forward, Angel Alarcon, on loan from Porto, joins him on the sidelines.
Former Celtic goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas is now the starting keeper for Utrecht, but Dutch goalkeeper Michael Brouwer may take the position for this match.
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Utrecht will likely rely on former Celta Vigo winger Miguel Rodriguez and on-loan forward Yoann Catheline, who previously played alongside Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitike in the French Under-20 team, as their main threats against Celtic.
This encounter will be the third meeting between the two teams; previously, Utrecht overcame a 2-0 first-leg defeat at Celtic Park in 2010, advancing with a 4-2 aggregate win in the qualifiers. They will aim to finish on a high note.
However, if Celtic wish to pursue a deep run in the Europa League, this match should pose no significant challenges for them.
Match Statistics
- Celtic ranks 24th in the Europa League, occupying the last qualification spot for the knock-out stage play-offs, just one point ahead of Ludogorets Razgrad and two points clear of five other teams.
- Utrecht is third from the bottom of the 36 clubs in the Europa League, with one point from seven matches, and they are already out of contention.
- Only Go Ahead Eagles (132) have faced more shots in the Europa League this season than Celtic (123), with the Glasgow team conceding 36 on matchday seven against Bologna—a joint second-highest since 2009-10.
- Utrecht remains winless in their last ten major European away matches, suffering eight losses since their last victory (4-0 against Zilina) in October 2003, during which they scored only two goals.
- Celtic is unbeaten in their last five matches, with two recent draws (2-2) against Bologna and Heart of Midlothian following three consecutive wins.
- Utrecht has lost five matches in a row, their latest defeat being 1-0 at home to Sparta Rotterdam, positioning them 11th out of 18 teams in the Eredivisie.
- Celtic dropped to third in the Scottish Premiership following a draw with Hearts last Sunday.
- The teams have met previously, with Utrecht winning 4-2 on aggregate in the 2010 Europa League qualifying play-offs after turning around a 4-0 loss at Celtic Park in the first leg.
- In 20 encounters with Dutch teams, Celtic has registered 10 victories and 8 losses, their most recent match being a 3-1 win against Feyenoord in the Europa League last November.
- Celtic has achieved five wins and suffered two losses in eight home matches against Dutch sides.
- For Utrecht, Iraq international Zidane Iqbal, midfielder Victor Jensen, and forward David Min are unavailable due to injury.
- However, the squad includes England Under-21 international Adrian Blake and fellow winger Derry Murkin.
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