Midtjylland vs Celtic Prediction: 4/1 Midtjylland man set to lead charge

FC Midtjylland will be hoping to preserve their flawless Europa League record when they host Celtic at MCH Arena on Thursday evening (17:45 BST, live on TNT Sports 2).

Martin O'Neill last led his Celtic side out on a European night back in December 2004 against AC Milan, and fast forward almost 21 years later, the former Republic of Ireland boss will have the honour once again this week. Read on for our Midtjylland vs Celtic predictions, as well as the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Ovie Ejeheri, Edward Chilufya and Adam Gabriel will all be absent for the hosts due to injury, however Franculino Dju is expected to be handed a starting berth, as the striker has already notched 16 goals in 18 appearances across all competitions this term.

As for Celtic, Jota, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Kelechi Iheanacho remain sidelined but Johnny Kenny is expected to lead the line after scoring three goals in his last two games - including the 3-1 semi-final win over arch rivals Rangers in the Scottish League Cup on Sunday.

Kasper Schmeichel will likely start between the sticks, shielded by a back four of Kieran Tierney, Anthony Ralston, Auston Trusty and Liam Scales.

Midtjylland vs Celtic Odds

The hosts are 11/10 to claim yet another win in the Europa League, giving them an implied win probability of 47.6%, while Celtic are 12/5 and the draw is an 11/4 shot.

Dju is favourite to score anytime at 13/10, followed by teammate Junior Brumado, and Kenny is shorted-priced for the visitors at 11/5.

Midtjylland to win @ 11/10

Sunday's win over Rangers will give Celtic fans a lift heading into Thursday night's tie, but there's no doubting that this has been a poor start to the campaign for the Glaswegian side.

The Hoops are in second place in the Scottish Premiership but already find themselves nine points off the pace behind league leaders Hearts, and the start to their European campaign doesn't make for much better reading, winning one, losing one and drawing one of their three games played.

Meanwhile, Midtjylland have claimed victories against Sturm Graz, Nottingham Forest and Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League so far and have yet to be beaten in 12 home outings.

A total of 36 strikes in 14 league games from the hosts suggests that the Celtic defence could be in for a long night, so that's why we're backing the Danish side to maintain their unbeaten start in this competition.

Franculino Dju - first goalscorer @ 4/1

A huge factor in the early-season success of Midtjylland is the form of striker Dju.

We've already mentioned that the Guinea-Bissau forward has scored 16 goals in 18 appearances across all competitions - including seven in his last five - and it wouldn't come as a surprise in the slightest if the 21-year-old nets again here.

We've opted for the Midtjylland man to break the deadlock at the appealing price of 4/1 rather than take his anytime price of 5/4, and expect him to lead the charge on Thursday night.

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