Celtic vs Roma Prediction: Nancy’s wait for first win to go on

Celtic take on Roma in the Europa League at Celtic Park on Thursday night (20:00 GMT TNT Sports 3) as new boss Wilfried Nancy aims to earn his first win. The Bhoys manager saw his side lose at home to league leaders Hearts in the Scottish Premiership in his maiden game in charge and so will be hoping for a response in Europe.

However, Roma are the opponents and so it won’t be an easy task. The Giallorossi are two points ahead of Celtic in the Europa League standings and are among the favourites to win the competition.

Team News

Marcelo Saracchi is a doubt for Celtic having missed the defeat by Hearts with a hamstring complaint. Jota, meanwhile, will not be available for the Bhoys until January due to a cruciate ligament injury.

Football Odds

Right-back Alistair Johnson will be unavailable through to March with a hamstring injury, while fellow defender Cameron Carter-Vickers has been ruled out for the season after injuring his Achilles.

Roma centre forward Artem Dobvyk has been absent for the last four games with a hip issue and remains a doubt for the trip to Scotland.

Today's Football Fixtures

Celtic vs Roma Odds

Roma are 6/5 to win the match on Thursday night while Celtic can be backed for victory at 11/5. The draw is on offer at 12/5.

Both teams to score is priced at 4/6. Paulo Dybala is 5/1 to net while Daizen Maeda is 2/1 to get his name on the scoresheet anytime.

Roma to win @ 6/5

Roma are the favourites to win against Celtic in the Europa League on Thursday night, despite losing their last two matches in Serie A.

With a top manager in Gian Piero Gasperini guiding a talented and experienced squad, the Giallorossi have been tipped as one of the potential winners come next May and will be expected to give a positive response after recent setbacks.

Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy, meanwhile, was only appointed a week ago and will still be getting to grips with the squad. Losing at home to league leaders Hearts was an immediate blow, and now he must find a way to get a positive result against a Roma side who are only four points off top spot in Italy.

With the Bhoys still finding their feet under a new boss, this game has likely come at the right time for a Roma side who have won both away games in the Europa League this season. In fact, in early November, the Giallorossi claimed victory in Glasgow, beating Celtic’s rivals Rangers 2-0 at Ibrox.

Roma have Stuttgart and Panathanaikos to come after Celtic in the league phase but will be eager to put three points on the board on Thursday night as the Italians bid to reach the Round of 16.

At this stage, Roma will likely possess enough quality to beat Celtic on the night and so backing the Giallorossi could prove a smart move.

Under 3.5 goals @ 1/3

Italian teams have long held a reputation for contributing to games which don’t feature a great deal of goals and Roma are certainly living up to that billing this season.

Only one of Roma’s games has featured over 3.5 goals and that was a 3-1 victory over Cremonese last month. What’s more, Gasperini’s side have conceded more than one goal in a match on just one occasion - that was a 2-1 defeat by Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League.

Roma have conceded at a rate of one goal per game in Europe, while in Serie A, the Giallorossi have let in just eight goals in 14 matches.

Celtic, meanwhile, have kept three clean sheets in their last six games while four of the last five matches have seen under 3.5 goals.

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