Europa League Betting: Bulls to trample over Celtic’s European dream

“In their two previous Europa League group matches this season Leipzig have scored five goals and conceded four”

RB Leipzig v Celtic
Thursday, 17:55
Live on BT Sport

RB Leipzig, one of two Red Bull sponsored sides in Group B, can charge towards qualification with a home win over Celtic. Ralf Rangnick’s side line-up for game three of the pool with one win and a defeat from their first two. They ended on the wrong side of a five-goal thriller with Salzburg in the opener, going down to an 89th minute Gulbrandsen winner, but bounced back to record a 3-1 over Rosenborg in Norway.

The Bulls raced into an early lead at Lerkendal Stadion three weeks ago, Augustin breaking the deadlock inside 12 minutes. That set the pace for the evening, Konate and Da Cunha on target to put the game to bed before Jebali responded with what proved to be nothing more than a consolation goal.

The Bundesliga outfit boosted confidence with a goalless draw away to Augsburg on Saturday, lifting them into the top-four and they’ll fancy their chances at a win here.

Scottish champions Celtic have been less than impressive in the first nine games of their league defence, winning six, drawing one and losing two. They are improving however and put in their best performance of the season at the weekend when hammering a capable Hibs side 4-2 at Parkhead. Three wins in-a-row moved Brendan Rodgers’ men to second in the pile, three points behind leaders Hearts.

Celtic fans haven’t had things as good on the continent so far. Knocked out of the Champions League by AEK Athens in the qualifying third round – 3-2 on aggregate – they dropped into Europe’s second-string competition.

Getting off the mark with a 1-0 home win over Rosenborg in September, the Glasgow side’s poor away form continued when downed 3-1 by Red Bull Salzburg. Edouard gave his employers a surprise lead inside two minutes, but it proved no match for a double from Dabbur and Minamino sweeter.

In their two previous Europa League group matches this season Leipzig have scored five goals and conceded four. Their opponents have netted two and conceded three, so it’s fair to assume we’re set for a high-scoring contest. Over 2.5 goals is sure to be popular in accumulators with 1/2 available on the Betfair Sportsbook.

Celtic’s away form in Europe will fill the locals with confidence and they deserve our attention with a handy [1.43] available about a home win in the Exchange match winner market. Short, but it’s difficult to make a case for the away day, even at [7.6]. Those looking for a shot at a decent return can try both to score in a Leipzig win at 7/4 (Betfair Sportsbook).

Rangers v Spartak Moscow
Thursday, 20:00
Live on BT Sport

Rangers face their second Europa League home tie on the bounce and will be eager to keep hold of a proud undefeated record under Steven Gerrard in this competition while nudging themselves towards a place in the knockout stages. The light blues rallied to claim a stunning 2-2 draw in Villarreal on week one before beating Rapid Vienna 3-1 at this venue last time.

Despite falling behind to a Berisha opener just before the break, the team from Govan responded, Morelos sending them in level with his first of two goals, captain Tavernier netting the other from the penalty spot.

Rangers made it three in-a-row in all competitions when hammering Hamilton on Sunday to record their first away win of the Scottish Premiership season. During that purple patch they’ve scored 10 goals and conceded three.

Despite being one of the ante-post favourites to progress from Group G as winners, Spartak Moscow head to Glasgow bottom of the pile and without a win to show for their efforts so far. They lost 2-0 at Rapid Vienna on the same night their opponents were taking a share from Estadio de la Cerámica but improved to secure a point at home to Villarreal in leg two.

Followers of The People’s Team thought they had witnessed a famous win when seeing Melgarejo score on 85 minutes to put his side 3-2 up against Villarreal but they were cruelly denied by a Cazorla penalty deep into stoppage-time.

Ranked fourth of four at the start but the right result in Scotland, and a favour elsewhere on the night, could see them storm to the front of the pack. It’s a tight set and there’s plenty of football still to be played. Spartak board a plane following a 3-2 Russian Premier League defeat to Arsenal Tula, taking their league tally to 5-3-3.

Top vs bottom of the group and home fans will be delighted to learn their opponents have managed just one win in their last five league games, a run that cost manager Massimo Carrera his job. On the other side of the fence Rangers ooze confidence, are scoring goals, upsetting the odds and making progress, both domestically and in Europe.

It’s incredible to see the locals come through 10 Europa League games without suffering defeat and there’s not a lot in Moscow’s form to suggest they are good enough to put an end to that run. The visitors will set-up to frustrate, dampen spirits in the crowd and hit on the counter attack but Rangers’ fitness should be the deciding factor.

They’ll have to work to create chances but have flair going forward and goals throughout the team. The Exchange has Rangers as [2.3] favourites, the draw [3.6] with Moscow [3.25].