APOEL vs Celje Prediction: Home comforts the key for APOEL

APOEL and Celje will do battle for the second time in a week when the two teams meet at the GSP Stadium in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday (20:00 KO, TNT Sports 9). A place in the last 16 in the competition is up for grabs and the hosts have work to do after an entertaining 2-2 draw in the first leg.

Celje took the lead after just two minutes through Armandas Kucys, only for David Abagna to pull APOEL level. Kucys missed a penalty in the second half before scoring the rebound, but APOEL rescued a draw through Konstantinos Laifis, even though Lasha Dvali saw red for two yellow cards. Read on for my APOEL vs Celje predictions.

Team News

The hosts will be without Dvali after his red card in the first leg, meaning Laifis could get the chance to start in central defence alongside Evagoras Antoniou.

Football Odds

Anastasios Donis suffered an injury in the first leg and is a doubt in midfield, while Celje boss Albert Riera has no new injury concerns and may stick with the same starting XI.

APOEL vs Celje Odds

APOEL are 8/15 favourites to secure the victory on Thursday, implying a 65.2% probability, with the draw good value at 3/1. Celje come into the game as 9/2 outsiders, with the Slovenian outfit struggling on the road this season.

The hosts are 1/4 to win the tie, with Celje 11/4 to progress in the competition.

Both teams to score is available at 8/11, while APOEL forward Stefan Drazic is the favourite to score anytime at 11/10.

Celje made a flying start in the first leg, and they are priced at 4/1 to be leading at half-time.

APOEL to win @ 8/15

APOEL showed great courage to come back from behind on two occasions last week, and they then showed plenty of heart to secure a draw with 10 men.

The reigning Cypriot champions have had a poor campaign compared to their usual standards, with Manolo Jimenez's side fifth in the table.

Jimenez is the club's third manager after poor spells under David Gallego and Jose Dominguez, and he has only lost five of his first 25 matches in charge.

APOEL's recent strong form should prove too much for Celje, who used their own form to progress into the knockout stages of the competition.

Celje are winless in four on the road, while they have only won three of their last 11 matches on their travels.

Under 2.5 goals @ 11/10

Even though the first meeting was a blockbuster encounter, the second leg could be an underwhelming affair.

APOEL have kept six clean sheets in their last 10 home games in all competitions, while Celje have failed to score in three of their last four away from home.

Celje are also yet to score more than one goal in a Conference League away match this season.

Offers

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