Thursday September 28th 2011, 6pm GMT (live on ESPN)
Celtic host their second Europa League group stage fixture on Thursday evening at Parkhead. The Scots lost their first game away to Atletico Madrid, but they can consider themselves fortunate to still be participating in Europe at this stage – they were beaten 3-1 on aggregate by FC Sion, but the Swiss club were subsequently removed from the competition when it emerged that they had fielded ineligible players in the play-off games against Celtic.
Udinese beat Rennes 2-1 in their debut group stage game, and they have also made an unbeaten start in Serie A. Many held concerns about the strength of the Friuli side when they sold Alexis Sanchez and Gokhan Inler during the summer without really spending any money themselves, but they have been impressive so far, and striker Antonio Di Natale looks as dangerous as ever.
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| European football makes an unexpectedly early return to Glasgow on Thursday |
Celtic began their domestic campaign well also, though their supporters won’t have been delighted with the 4-2 defeat they suffered in the old firm derby against Rangers last week. As we know, the Scottish league is an annual two-horse race between Celtic and Rangers, but the two Glasgow sides have both experienced increasing difficulty recently when faced with continental opposition. Udinese’s trademark counter-attacking style is not something Celtic are used to facing, and I think that the pace and movement of the Italian club will be too much for the hosts on Thursday.
Prediction – Udinese to win – 5pts
Match odds: Celtic 8/5
Draw 11/5
Udinese 8/5
