Celtic will look for its first Europa League point when Besiktas visits Celtic Park on Thursday, November 5. Kickoff in Glasgow is at 8 p.m. local time (9 p.m. CET).

Besiktas has scored nine goals on its way to seven points from three matches. Celtic has conceded nine, and its last two home games give the visiting attack particular reason for encouragement.

Verdict: Besiktas to score at least two goals
Best odds: 93/100
Bookmaker: 1xBet

Celtic

Celtic was a crossbar away from going 2-0 up in its last Europa League game. Mika Baur had scored just after halftime against Celta Vigo, and Liam Scales nearly doubled the lead when he met a Haissem Hassan cross. By the 71st minute, Celtic was behind.

Javi Rodriguez headed in the equalizer and scored again from outside the box three minutes later. The 2-1 defeat against Celta Vigo followed a 3-1 home loss to Ferencvaros and a 4-1 defeat at Benfica.

Six days later, almost the same thing happened against Dundee United. Camilo Duran put Celtic ahead before Zac Sapsford equalized in the 28th minute and Neil Farrugia scored in the 31st. This time Scales rescued a point, but Martin O’Neill had watched another home lead disappear in three minutes.

Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Falkirk was frustrating for a different reason. Celtic had 24 attempts, put nine on target and hit the post through Duran. Former Celtic goalkeeper Scott Bain had an excellent afternoon, while Falkirk had already done enough to win the match by halftime.

There is enough in those performances to see Celtic scoring on Thursday. The harder question for O’Neill is how to settle his side after it concedes. Besiktas has several players capable of making the next attack count before Celtic regains its shape.

Celtic Team News

Alistair Johnston is out with a hamstring injury. Colby Donovan started at right back against Falkirk and is the likely choice again. On the opposite side, Kieran Tierney needs assessment after taking a couple of knocks on Sunday.

Jota is ineligible because he was left out of Celtic’s Europa League squad. Yang Hyun-jun is working his way back from a hamstring problem, while Oliver Sorensen’s availability remains uncertain after he missed the trip to Falkirk for family reasons.

Cameron Carter-Vickers returned to the starting lineup on Sunday alongside Scales. Further forward, Baur has scored two of Celtic’s three league-phase goals, and Hassan’s deliveries from the right gave both Duran and Scales chances against Celta.

Besiktas

The Besiktas player with the best reason to look forward to this trip is former Celtic striker Oh Hyeon-gyu. He had a hand in all three goals in the 3-2 win at Hoffenheim, the Turkish club’s only away fixture in the league phase so far.

Oh set up Michael Murillo for the opener. When Hoffenheim equalized, he scored in the 72nd and 79th minutes. Celtic knows what he offers in the box, and his performance in Germany gives Vincenzo Italiano a good reason to use him at some point in Glasgow.

The goals have come from elsewhere, too. Besiktas opened its campaign with a 4-1 victory over Marseille. In the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace, midfielder Wilfred Ndidi opened the scoring before Junior Olaitan earned a point with a shot from outside the area. Keeping track of the center forward will only solve part of Celtic’s problem.

Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Kasimpasa explains the appeal of backing the visiting attack. Ridvan Yilmaz picked out Leandro Trossard for the opening goal, and Dusan Vlahovic made it 2-0 shortly after halftime. Besiktas still had to settle for a point after conceding an 87th-minute equalizer.

That was the third straight match in which Besiktas scored exactly twice. Only one of those games ended in victory.

Besiktas Team News

Captain Orkun Kokcu remains a doubt with the foot injury he suffered at Hoffenheim. Reports in Turkey suggest Italiano will assess Kokcu in training before deciding whether he can feature. Ndidi and Salih Ozcan started together in midfield at Kasimpasa.

Fabio Miretti is sidelined with a shoulder injury. Center back Umit Akdag is suspended after his red card against Crystal Palace, leaving Emmanuel Agbadou and Emirhan Topcu in contention to continue in front of Alexander Nubel.

Vlahovic and Trossard both strengthened their claims to start with goals on Sunday. Italiano also used Oh alongside Vlahovic for the closing stages, an option if Besiktas needs a goal late on.

Celtic vs Besiktas key factors to consider

• Celtic has lost its first three Europa League matches, conceding nine goals.
• Celtic has scored once in each of those games, with Baur accounting for two of its three goals.
• Celta Vigo and Dundee United each scored twice in three minutes on Celtic’s last two home outings.
• Celtic put nine shots on target in Sunday’s 2-0 loss at Falkirk.
• Besiktas has seven points and has scored at least twice in every league-phase match.
• Oh scored twice and set up the other goal in the away win at Hoffenheim.
• Besiktas has scored exactly twice in each of its last three matches across all competitions.
• Trossard and Vlahovic both scored in Sunday’s draw at Kasimpasa.

Conclusion

Celtic has created enough chances at home to make an outright away win a difficult call. Baur and Duran have both put Celtic ahead at Parkhead in recent weeks, and Besiktas comes into this game after letting a two-goal lead slip.

The stronger bet is on what happens at the other end. Celtic has conceded at least twice in every league-phase fixture, while Besiktas has reached that mark against French, German and English opposition. Even if Vlahovic starts alone up front, Italiano can turn to a striker who scored twice in seven minutes on his last European away trip.

At 93/100, Besiktas to score at least two goals is the pick.

Verdict: Besiktas to score at least two goals
Best odds: 93/100
Bookmaker: 1xBet