Celtic vs Sturm Graz Prediction: Back the Bhoys to bounce back

Celtic and Sturm Graz meet for the first time in competitive action when the Austrians visit Glasgow on Thursday evening. TNT Sports 2 for this one from 20:00 - straight after the other Old Firm club.

The locals lost at the weekend, but are hot favourites to collect three Europa League points here. Betfred’s Frank Monkhouse previews and gives us his top two Celtic vs Sturm Graz Predictions...

*For all of our Football Odds then head on over to betfred.com

Celtic enjoy home advantage on matchday three from the UEFA Europa League. Brendan Rodgers’ side enter with just a point on the board from their previous two outings, leaving them 28th in a pack of 36 teams. The locals opened with a draw before losing their previous game, making Thursday’s return a must-win.

Will the Hoops deliver three points to climb the pecking order and get their campaign back on track? You can bet now at Betfred.

Sturm Graz battled to an impressive home win over Rangers when last on Europa League duty. Can they do the double over the Old Firm by leaving Celtic Park with all three points?

The Austrians start in 22nd, knowing another three points would catapult them towards the prizes. Sturm Graz start as the betting underdogs here, but four wins on the bounce ensure they’ll be a popular pick with value hunters.

Match Odds

There’s trouble brewing in the east end of Glasgow. Fans are upset after sitting through a disastrous transfer window that left the Hoops with a weaker team than they started.

Supporters demand the removal of those responsible at the boardroom level, while many are beginning to turn on Rodgers, believing he has had enough and is waiting for a better offer to arrive from England. Despite the mess at Parkhead, a home win is priced as 8/15 favourite at Betfred.

Sturm Graz aim to pile pressure on their hosts. The Austrian Bundesliga champions beat Rangers 2-1 at Merkur Arena on matchday two, scoring both goals inside 35 minutes.

The Blacks have won each of their last four games in all competitions, beating Hartberg 1-0, Rangers 2-1, Altach 2-0, and BW Linz 4-3 on Sunday away from home.

Jürgen Saumel’s team are playing with confidence and believe they have what it takes to continue that impressive winning streak with another positive result in Glasgow.

*You can see all of our Celtic vs Sturm Graz Odds and betting markets over on betfred.com

Celtic win

Our first bet in Glasgow on Thursday evening is for Celtic to finally get off the mark and score a Europa League win at the third time of asking. Pressure is building on everyone at the club, from the players and manager to the board.

Things aren’t going well domestically or in Europe, with the Hoops dropping out of the Champions League and starting poorly in the Europa League. But pressure is nothing new to Rodgers, and he possesses the experience needed to keep his players calm and focused.

Sturm Graz beat Rangers without much fuss last time, but the Gers were woeful under Russell Martin, and were the better team in the second half. Sturm Graz are on a decent run, but I saw little in that win over Rangers to suggest the Austrians are a great side.

What version of Celtic will we see here? That’s the major concern. But if the home team are anywhere near their best and the fans back the players, I’m confident the points will remain in Glasgow. It won’t be pretty, but we’re taking Celtic to silence their critics.

Iheanacho to score

Kelechi Iheanacho arrived at Celtic on a free transfer at the end of the transfer window.

The former Man City and Leicester City striker wasn’t the big-money buy most fans wanted, but the 29-year-old Nigerian is settling into life at Parkhead. He had a goal incorrectly ruled out by VAR against Braga that would’ve tied the match at 1-1. The Portuguese went on to win 2-0 following that lucky escape.

Iheanacho has found the net three times in seven games for Celtic. He opened his account with a debut goal against Kilmarnock in a 2-1 win at Rugby Park. The African then earned his side a share of the spoils in Belgrade, with his most recent goal coming from the penalty spot in a 3-2 win here over Motherwell earlier this month.

He was unable to help Celtic avoid a painful 2-0 loss at Dens Park at the weekend, but was far from the only one to blame for that horror show. Back Iheanacho to score anytime and hope he delivers.

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Frank Monkhouse Scottish Football P/L

25/26 Season:

• Points Placed: 59
• Points Returned: 37.70
• P/L: -21.30

24/25 Season:

• Points Placed: 257
• Points Returned: 252.25
• P/L: -4.75

Frank Monkhouse covers Scottish Football for us here at Betfred Insights. You can check out all of his work along with that of the rest of our Football Betting Tips desk on our main Football page...